


The Magic of Love

by Mayhem_Lock



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Awesome Gwen (Merlin), BAMF Merlin, Bottom Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Bottom Merlin, Complete, Court Sorcerer Merlin, Eventual Smut, First Time, Fluff and Smut, M/M, Magic Revealed, Marriage, My First Work in This Fandom, Not Beta Read, Not Canon Compliant, Plot, Sex Magic, gwen ships Merlin and Arthur
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-17
Updated: 2015-05-01
Packaged: 2018-03-23 10:43:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 47,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3765166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mayhem_Lock/pseuds/Mayhem_Lock
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur finds out about Merlin's magic and Merlin runs away. However, it is a blessing in disguise as Merlin is transported to the God's realm near Avalon where he meets Danu and Cernunnos. With their help, Merlin learns about himself and more on his magic before he returns to Camelot.</p>
<p>Arthur, miserable during the time Merlin is away, discovers more about his feelings towards Merlin as well as to magic. He then sets to change the laws about magic and when he is finally king, he has a tournament for the Court Sorcerer Position. Now he hopes that Merlin comes back and competes.</p>
<p>Eventually, they get together and Merlin is able to change the prophecy for a much happier ending :)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Ok, so this is my first time writing here and I'm a little nervous about it. However, these boys wouldn't leave me alone and demanded to be written. This is un-beta'd, not brit-picked, and hopefully is a good story. 

Set after season 3; No Agravaine though.  
Short recap of end of season 3: Morgana did come back after Merlin poisoned her and did take over Camelot with the help of Morgause created the never-dying army. Arthur and friends were exiled, but eventually came back and thought they killed Morgana & Morgause. Uther is heart-broken over Morgana’s betrayal and use of magic, so Arthur takes over as acting King.

**Arthur**

Arthur, sitting on the hard ground in the forest, stares at the flames though isn’t really paying attention to it. He knows that his presence on this quest to destroy the harpy that is terrorizing his kingdom has been met with arguments from pretty much everybody, including Merlin, but he is acting king and his word is now law with only his father to command his obedience. However, that might never happen as Uther lays in his bed, weeping for the loss of Morgana and for her betrayal to the kingdom. Arthur was tired of being thrusted with decisions that his father should be making and he needed to get out of the city. Which is precisely why he is now in the forest, a day’s ride from Camelot, with a handful of his most trusted knights and of course Merlin.

A log in the fire pops with a spark and Arthur looks up to see Merlin blushing while laughing at something Gwaine had said. Merlin has always been a constant in Arthur’s life these past years as somebody he could count on never changing. With Morgana’s transformation into an evil sorceress and his father now as a broken man, Arthur relies on Merlin being the same bumbling idiot manservant who doesn’t treat people according to their station, but to who they really are. He enjoys the rare private moments when Merlin is free to speak his mind as sometimes he can be pretty insightful, though the amount of disrespect given to his due as a royal person is more frequent than the pearls of wisdom.

“Sire?” Merlin looks right at him, seeming to know that he’s on Arthur’s mind. Arthur swears Merlin’s bright blue eyes pierces down to his very soul, knowing the most intimate part of himself, which makes Arthur shiver with some unknown emotion.

“Don’t you have some duties to attend to?” Arthur asks with some bite to his words as he hates uncertainty within himself, but can’t seem to bring his emotions into order when it comes to Merlin.

Merlin, for all he’s worth, looks like he’s thinking about the question, putting Arthur more on edge.

“No, I don’t think so,” Merlin finally answers with a smirk, “Horses are already fed and given water, dishes are washed, and there’s enough firewood for the night.”

“I swear, if you were this efficient taking care of your duties in my chambers, you’d make a decent manservant,” Arthur grumbles loud enough for Merlin to hear him, provoking him into say something back.

“You’re more demanding in your chambers than out in the open,” Merlin retorts back with good-nature.

“It’s my royal right to make demands of my manservant,” Arthur replies with an air of royalty, but is quickly struck down as Gwaine starts chuckling.

“What?” Arthur glares at the knight.

“Nothing, princess,” Gwaine tries to wave Arthur off, but is still grinning like a madman, “It’s just, ah, interesting to hear you two bicker.”

Arthur stares at Gwaine, wondering what he’s trying to insinuate, but gives up as he figures that Gwaine is trying to get another rise out of him.

“We should turn in for the night,” Arthur announces, knowing this will get everyone to think of why they’re out in the forest this night. The others take instant action as they obey the unspoken command, while Merlin gives him a lopsided grin, making Arthur wonder what is going on in that thick skull of his.

Finally, after some flurry of activity, everyone is settled in their bedrolls around the fire with Lancelot taking the first watch. Somehow Merlin managed to snag a spot near the fire, though Arthur suspects Gwaine and Percival had something to do with it. The knights all have a soft spot for Merlin or at least some kind of respect as despite the adversity they’ve all face, Merlin always insists on coming along in which Arthur points out that it just shows how much of an idiot Merlin really is. He isn’t sure why he puts up with Merlin risking his life and quite possibly endangering the group as he’s the weakest member.

With Merlin as his last thought, Arthur fell asleep with strange pleasant dreams.

A scream wakes Arthur up and for one brief hallucination, he thought it was Merlin’s, but it was too high-pitched with a piercing screech. However, battle instincts takes over and Arthur is on high alert as he rolls to his feet with his sword in hand. His knights are also on alert, while out of the corner of his eye, he sees Merlin flail as he disentangles himself from his bedroll. Arthur can’t spare his manservant another thought as the creature, who’s screams have woken the group, bursts through the canopy of the trees.

Arthur heard the rumors of the creature’s appearance, but seeing it heading towards them makes him recoil in disgust. The creature, half-bird and half-woman, would have been thought to be pleasant as the descriptions were of naked breasts and head of a woman with a body and wings of a bird. But this travesty of sight is far from it. The womanly features were caked with filth from eating rotting flesh without a care to bathe afterwards and the bird features were that of a vulture, black feathers and sharp claws.

He raises his sword and surges towards the harpy, aiming to strike right at the heart, the only spot that will kill it. The harpy pumps her wings so she can swing her poisonous claws out at him. As uncomfortable as it was to sleep with chainmail on, he is now thankful they did as the harpy’s claws managed to snag his shoulder, but unable to pierce through. Instead, the harpy manages to spin Arthur with a strong gust, leaving a bruise. He takes the momentum to swing his sword, hoping to do some damage, but to no avail. Despite its looks, the bird half of the harpy is invincible as his sword only bounces off the feathered body.

Gwaine rushes up with his sword drawn to take Arthur’s place while Lancelot and Percival comes to the sides as a distraction for the creature. Arthur straightens himself out and arcs his sword to take another hit at the harpy.

Just as the four knights strike, the harpy lets out an ear-piercing shriek that flings them away from her body. Arthur sails in the air trying to keep a grip on his sword before he lands hard against a tree. He is knocked out for a few precious seconds and when he opens his eyes next, the harpy was a mere few feet from him, but is distracted. He turns his head to see what the harpy is looking at and gasps in horror.

Merlin, the idiot, is waving his arms around, making a target out of himself as he almost trips on his own feet.

“Here, you ugly beast,” Merlin taunts the creature, “That’s it, come to me. I’m far more tasty than him, he’s all fat and empty calories.”

The harpy scowls as she takes a couple of steps towards Merlin, which makes Arthur panic.

“You idiot,” Arthur yells at Merlin, angry over the fact that Merlin is trying to get himself killed. The harpy swings her body back at Arthur and he tightens his grip on his sword before bringing it up to stab her right in the chest. The harpy screeches, though this time it sounds wet and Arthur feels a victorious triumph as he watches the harpy shudder as she falls to the side with his sword sticking out right where her heart is.

Arthur grunts as he stands up to survey the damage. The three knights are all still on the ground, though it looks like Lancelot is sitting up and blinking away the spots in his eyes. The other two look like their breathing, which releases a sigh of relief from Arthur’s lips until his eyes sweep up to Merlin.

“Merlin,” Arthur growls, his anger resurfaces again as he stomps towards the boy, “You are the most idiotic person I have ever met. Do you have a death wish or do you just enjoy putting yourself in harm’s way?”

“I saved your life,” Merlin counters as he squares his shoulders, looking Arthur straight in his eyes, “Most people just say thank you, but do I ever get that from you? No, it must be too humbling for you to thank a mere servant.”

“You’re not just a mere servant,” Arthur retorts as he is now a foot away, “You’re my manservant who thinks that insulting his master is the best way to attack a magical creature without any thought of defending yourself.”

Arthur is angry that Merlin foolishly risked his life without thinking to protect himself. He hears a giggle coming from Gwaine, but he doesn’t have the patience to even think about Gwaine’s reason for that.

Merlin opens his mouth to argue, but nothing comes out as a screech is heard from right above them. Arthur looks up to see a second harpy, nobody mentioned there were two, making a dive bomb towards them. Before Arthur could react, Merlin moves faster than he’s ever seen, reaching up with a hand and with a harsh but stirringly exotic word, an arrow of light shoots from Merlin’s hand. Arthur watches with a slow motion the light arrow piercing through the harpy with a precise aim to the heart. He then hears another unknown word as Merlin’s other hand makes a sweeping motion and the harpy’s body is flung to the side rather than falling on top of them.

Arthur removes his eyes from the harpy to look right in Merlin’s eyes, seeing the tell-tale sign of sorcery before the familiar blue eyes replace the golden shine. But it didn’t matter because Arthur now knew the truth and Merlin’s eyes look scared, hesitant…. Fearful. It was because of that fear that makes something in Arthur snap.

“Magic,” Arthur twists his mouth with hate for the word. His hate for what it has done to his father, hate for his father’s war against it, hate for it twisting Morgana against Camelot, and hate for it residing in Merlin. In his servant who is supposed to always be the same in this changing world.

“A-Arthur, please. I didn’t… I mean, I’m still… I-I,” Merlin stutters, cringing now against Arthur’s glare. Arthur knows the others are awake as he can feel the knight’s eyes on them, waiting to see what Arthur will do. Their expectations weigh heavily on top of everything else that Arthur has kept piling on with his father’s expectations for a dutiful son, Camelot’s expectations of a just king, everyone looking to him for answers. It was too much for Arthur to bear it anymore.

“Get out of my sight, _sorcerer_ ,” Arthur commands Merlin with such force and conviction that for a second, Arthur feels every inch of his father standing in his place.

Merlin stares at him with unshed tears as the order seems to reach through in his brain. He bobs his head, most likely an unconscious gesture before he turns and runs as far as he can from Arthur.

Arthur watches him as he trips and stumbles before straightening himself and is suddenly out of sight. With Merlin gone, so is his anger and Arthur slumps down to the ground, far more exhausted than if he fought a hundred men. In that instant, he was shattered with regret.

“What the Hell were you thinking?” Gwaine swears at Arthur, which breaks the other knights into action. Arthur hears more than sees Lancelot try to go after Merlin, but somehow he knew the knight wouldn’t be able to catch up with Merlin.

“I…” Arthur is lost for words as he looks at the dead harpy, killed with Merlin’s magic. He then whispers, praying that Merlin could hear him, “I’m sorry.”

“Seriously, _Princess_ ,” Gwaine spats the nickname for Arthur, “You fucked up this time. You’ve pushed away the only person who would ever put up with your royal ass on a daily basis without murdering you.”

“He has magic,” Arthur protests, but instantly knew it was weak.

“Who cares?” Percival now joins in the berating as Gwaine is swearing himself blue while trying not to kill his prince, “Merlin has proven his loyalty to you over and over again. He’s has plenty of times to have killed you, even without magic, but he hasn’t. I bet he’s saved your ass several times without any of us knowing.”

“Merlin is the most bravest man of us all,” Gwaine finally stops swearing to impart a sudden epiphany, “He lives in fear for his life and for those around him every day because of the magic ban. One slip is an instant death sentence in which many people would swear off magic, but not Merlin. He uses for the greater good knowing that if he was ever caught, he would die.”

Arthur looks up at the surly knight and realizes he’s right. There is a twinge of betrayal that Merlin didn’t confide in him about his magic, but the logical side of him points out that keeping the secret is a means of self-preservation. He hears Lancelot coming back and he turns to look at him.

“I can’t find him,” Lancelot looks grim, “It’s like he’s disappeared.”

Arthur guesses he used magic to get further away and he almost laughs as now Merlin obeys his order instead of arguing. He wishes Merlin stubbornly stayed, but Arthur remembers the frustration and anger that was coursing through him when he yelled at Merlin.

“His secret is safe with us,” Percival hesitates, trying to gauge Arthur’s thoughts with that declaration, “We won’t betray him.”

The unspoken question hangs heavy in the air, would Arthur keep Merlin’s secret as well?

“I want him safe,” Arthur finally says softly, “I won’t betray him either.”

With that, they broke down the camp and disposed of the dead harpies, though everyone was lingering with hope that Merlin might come back. Finally, when they couldn’t delay it any more, the knights and Arthur load up the horses. The ride back into Camelot was silent with the exception of deadly glares aimed for their prince. Arthur knew they are justified in wishing him death, but that would’ve been too kind. He has driven away the most important person in his life and this slow death of regret is his punishment.

It didn’t matter that Merlin had magic, in the back of his mind, now thinking about it, he suspected but never brought those thoughts into light. Arthur did know how unjust the magic ban was on those that did magic for the greater good rather for evil. He had watched innocent people burn in his father’s crusade against magic and it left a sour taste in Arthur’s mouth since he was ten. But he was powerless against his father in this matter and will be until Uther is dead.

It was dusk when they cantered into Camelot and as Arthur looks up at the castle, his heart grew even heavier as he’s going to have to tell Gaius and Gwen what happened, albeit edited to preserve Merlin’s secret. But it also felt heavy as he knows he’ll have to walk through the halls without his most trusted manservant.

After getting the horses taken care of, Arthur makes the slow walk to Gaius’ quarters with Merlin’s things. He stands in front of the door, remembering the times he’s strode right in looking for Merlin. He takes a deep breath and opens the door.

“Merlin,” Gaius starts to say something before turning to see that it’s not Merlin there, “Oh, sorry, Sire?”

Arthur looks around the cluttered room with books and herbs everywhere before looking back at Gaius’ questioning concerned look.

“Gaius,” Arthur starts, feeling a lump in his throat and an unexplainable emotion rising within himself, far more than shame for his actions, “I did something unforgivable.”

“Merlin?” Gaius asks softly, fearing the worse.

“He’s alive, I think,” Arthur rushes on to put the old man out of his misery, “But I acted out of anger and he took the brunt of my frustrations as I yelled for him to get out of my sight.”

 _Sorcerer_ , rang out in his mind as the last thing he said to Merlin.

“Sire, I’m sure he will come back after cooling down,” Gaius tries to reassure Arthur, “He understands how much pressure you are in and knows you don’t mean it.”

“No, there’s something else,” Arthur hesitates, wanting to keep Merlin’s secret, but knows that Gaius spent the most time other than Arthur with Merlin. He might’ve known.

“Sire,” Gaius levels an eye at Arthur, “Did he… do something unusual?”

Yes, Arthur is now certain that Gaius knows and if not, he hopes Merlin will forgive him for telling as he trusts Gaius to keep silent over this.

“There were two harpies,” Arthur explains as Gaius looks surprised as they both know the reports only mentioned one harpy, “I killed the first one and thought it was over, but the second harpy surprised all of us. It was right above us, but it was Merlin who reacted first, like on instinct. He used magic to kill it, saving my life.”

Arthur watches the energy run out of Gaius as he sits down on the bench, looking far older than ever before.

“What will you do now?” Gaius asks with great caution and Arthur understands the reasoning behind it.

“Send out patrols, knights I can trust to look for him and tell him I’m sorry,” Arthur answers, knowing that it’ll be the first step. If he can get Merlin to come back so he can apologize in person, Arthur vows to make it up to his Merlin for the rest of his life, “I’m not going to kill him nor give away his secret. He deserves much better and I’m going to do everything in my power to see things right.”

“That is all good, but what about until then?” Gaius asks, “What will you do to give Merlin assurance that he’ll be protected? What of the knights who were there, are they willing to protect his secret as well?”

“Gwaine, Percival, and Lancelot pretty much reamed me over hot coals for lashing out at Merlin, even after what Merlin did. They’ll take his secret with them to their graves and when Merlin comes back, they’ll help on protecting him,” Arthur answered the easiest question first before trying to put his feelings into words that’ll let Gaius know the lengths he’ll go for Merlin, “And if it comes down to it, I’m willing to die for him, if Merlin is convicted of sorcery, then I’ll burn alongside with him.”

“I don’t think that’ll be reassuring for Merlin,” Gaius points out, “Merlin doesn’t want to you to die. For now, I think seeking him out to make sure he is safe and to let him know he is still welcomed here is a good start.”

“You’re right, Gaius,” Arthur knows he’s not making any good decisions today, “I’m not thinking properly, maybe after some sleep, I can find a way to guarantee Merlin’s safety here.”

“You do that,” Gaius gives him a small nod, “A rash action is what got you in this mess, but it won’t help you get out of it.”

“Thank you,” Arthur is very grateful that he still has Gaius to help him, “If it’ll be alright with you, I’ll come by tomorrow. I want to know more about Merlin and his… magic.”

“I’ll be glad to talk to you about how many times he’s saved your life,” Gaius replies, twisting the knife in Arthur’s heart on how much he screwed up, but he deserves it.

He nods his head before leaving the physician’s room and takes the lonely steps to his room. He knows that his duties meant he should be heading to his father’s room to report, but he doesn’t have the energy to put on a brave face nor to reign in his tongue about the magic ban. He’ll need a clear head before discussing anything with his grieving father.

He bumps into Gwen as she is walking down the hall with a basket of laundry.

“Hello, sire,” Gwen bobs her head to him in deference of his royal status. He likes Gwen, but something always stops him from taking it further. He wants to marry for love, but he’s not sure if he’s really in love with her.

“Hello Gwen,” He gives her a perfunctory smile, “If you’re not busy, can you get my dinner?”

“Sure, did something happen to Merlin?” Gwen asks, knowing that as a regular servant she wouldn’t have been able to ask such a question, but since Arthur considers her at the very least a friend, she has the right to ask. He quickly pulls her into an empty room, not wanting to be overheard.

“Ah, yes,” Arthur cringes slightly, a behavior unbecoming of a king, but his feelings on the whole ‘Merlin has magic and is gone’ situation has Arthur tied up in knots. He knew Gwen deserves the truth, well edited, as his knights made it clear that they’re not going to let Arthur get away with his outburst, “I may have said some things in anger and drove him away.”

“May have?” Gwen’s eyes get huge in shock at first before narrowing them in anger, “They had to be some pretty unforgivable, _vile_ words coming from you for him to have run off in the middle of a forest.”

“I know,” Arthur whines, “And I didn’t mean to say them, but I was so frustrated with everything that’s been going on that I accidentally lashed out on him.”

“It doesn’t matter, you’re the king and you should know better than to take it out on Merlin,” Gwen lets him have it and he knows she speaks the truth, “but what’s worse is that he is your friend and he loves you, completely devoted to you no matter what.”

“I’m sorry,” Arthur says the only thing he can at the moment as the words ‘he loves you’ resonates in his mind.

“It’s not me that you should be apologizing to,” Gwen says heatedly, “What are you going to do to get him back?”

“I’m going to dispatch some knights to go looking for him in the morning,” Arthur states, already planning on sending Gawain up to Ealdor to see if Merlin went to his mother’s.

“That’s a start,” Gwen nods her head in approval, “What else?”

“I’m not sure yet,” Arthur confesses, “I know I’ll have to do something drastic to get him to realize how sorry I am, but I just can’t find the right idea.”

“At least you know this is too serious for you to just do the usual flippant apology,” Gwen huffs, “You’ll have to do a lot of groveling.”

“I’m a king, we don’t grovel,” Arthur instantly bristles at the thought of groveling to anyone.

“I think in this case, you’ll have to learn,” Gwen replies, “You’ll have to let go of your pride as I’m sure it was what got you in this situation.”

Arthur realizes Gwen is right. He let his pride get in the way of being a good king. He wanted to prove to his father and to the kingdom that he can do it all.

“I’ll do it for Merlin,” Arthur says softly, knowing that it’s true. He won’t grovel to his father, but he’ll grovel to get Merlin back.

“Good,” Gwen finally smiles at him, “Now then I’ll see about getting your dinner and a temporary servant to take care of Merlin’s duties until he returns.”

“Thank you,” Arthur is grateful to have her as a friend. He still is thinking about adding her to his royal advisors as some of the things she says makes sense, but that’ll be another matter he’ll have to work on when he is truly king. Gwen leaves to take care of the basket and getting his dinner as he heads for his room.

Inside, the loss of Merlin seems more pronounced as he sees spots where Merlin was supposed to finish cleaning, his laundry hadn’t been taken down to get washed, and his second best armor hasn’t been polished. He sits at his desk, staring at nothing as he tries to clear his head.

He’s not sure how long he sat there, thinking, but a knock on the door interrupts his thoughts.

“Come in.”

A male servant walks in with a tray of food.

“Sire, I am Harold, your new manservant,” The man introduces himself with a precise bow before placing the food on the table. Arthur just nods his head as he gets up and moves to the dining table. He feels a little resentful of Harold since he’s usurping Merlin’s job, but he knows it’s ridiculous as he knows the fault lies within himself.

He picks up a piece of chicken and bites into it, almost spitting it back out as its cold.

“Everything to your liking, sire?” Harold asks politely as he pours Arthur his wine.

“It’s exactly what I deserve,” Arthur replies, knowing that Gwen must’ve told the kitchen staff about what he did to Merlin. He’s not going to have the food sent back because the golden rule of the castle is to never piss off the kitchen staff and clearly they were quite fond of Merlin.

After finishing his subpar dinner, he had Harold draw up a bath for him in which seems to take longer and isn’t as hot as Merlin would have done it. Arthur can’t bear to have Harold help him undress, so he does it himself before Harold could make a move towards him. The same thing for getting dressed as he just takes the night clothes from Harold and gets into them by himself, luckily Harold seems to catch on as this time he doesn’t make a move to help.

Once Arthur is in bed with Harold gone, promising to wake him in the morning, his thoughts go back to what Gwen said. _He loves you_. Those three words tugs at his heart and he can feel a couple of tears slide down his cheeks as unnamed emotions turmoil within himself.


	2. Chapter 2

**Merlin**

He ran. How far, he doesn’t know, but it’ll never be far enough as the words just repeat in his mind.

 _Get out of my sight, sorcerer_.

The hate and rage spilled from those lips is what drives Merlin to continue running as his heart breaks. Finally, his legs give out and he falls to the ground in a heap of mess. His magic roils within him, responding to his emotions and without his consent, it bursts out.

He opens his arms wide, looking up at the sky as his now hated magic radiates from his body, heading upwards. Clouds seem to form quickly and there was a loud thunderous sound before hot rain falls. Exhausted, Merlin slumps to the ground, uncaring that he’s getting soaked as his tears mix with the rain.

Arthur hates him.

That’s all that he can think about and nothing else matters now. He dedicated his life for the once and future king, everything that he is had been for Arthur.

: _Emrys_ :

Merlin shudders as someone telepathically calls out to him, but he doesn’t respond. However, that didn’t stop the person from approaching him.

Merlin didn’t know what happened afterwards as he wakes up in a far more comfortable position than huddled on the forest floor. He feels confused as he is looking up at an unfamiliar thatched ceiling. With a groan, he sits up, taking in the fact that he’s in a bed with blankets sliding off his naked chest.

With a start, he lifts the blankets to see that he’s fully naked. He blushes as he immediately covers himself up before looking around the room. It was small, but cozy, with a table and a couple of chairs, a bookcase filled with various odds and ends alongside with books, a warm fire crackling on the opposite wall, and the walls are covered with runic sigils and drying herbs.

The door to the outside opens and Merlin tightens the blankets around him as a woman strides in. She is beautiful with a regal presence that makes Merlin feel like he should bow to her. She has bright red hair, like the rubies he’s seen on Morgana’s necklace and emerald eyes that crinkle as she looks at him with a bright smile.

“Emrys, you’re awake,” Her voice sounds like a babbling spring, but with the power of a rushing river, “How are you feeling?”

“Ah, Milady,” Merlin stumbles over his tongue as despite being around royalty for years, only she can make him feel like he’s in a true noble’s company, “I-I feel better.”

And in truth, he does. He feels more at peace with himself, though his thoughts shy from the reason why he should be here.

“Relax Emrys,” She continues to smile at him as she glides over to him. She’s wearing a long green sleeveless overcoat with gold trim on top of a white peasant top and brown leather breeches. “You have nothing to worry here.”

“Where is here?” Merlin asks as she carefully sits on the bed and he fights the urge to make himself smaller.

“Sanctuary,” She replies softly and reaches out to brush the hair out of Merlin’s face, “I am Danu and this is my personal realm.”

As soon as she touches his skin, he relaxes and knowledge of being completely safe here pervades through his mind. He feels the lull in his mind before it snaps up at knowing who Danu is.

“Danu… the Goddess of the Old Religion?” Merlin breathes out the question as he look up at her.

“Yes, my child,” She nods her head with a comforting smile, though Merlin is now blushing. A thought pops into his head on just how exactly he got here, “Do not fret, your magic brought you here in your time of need as there are other reasons for you to have traveled so far from your precious king.”

“Can you… Is he… What?” With so many questions to ask, he isn’t sure which one to ask first, but then the memory of the last time he saw Arthur surged forward and unbidden tears spring in his eyes.

“Emrys,” The way she said his Druidic name, with love and understanding, breaks the fragile dam he was trying to hold up. She opens her arms for him and he takes the offer of comfort as he leans into her embrace. She wraps her arms around him as he lets everything out with choking sobs. It wasn’t just about Arthur, but every time he failed someone, every person that died because of his actions, everything that went wrong.

After an indeterminate time, his sobs turned into silent inner turmoil crying and then finally drifting into another exhaustive sleep. When he wakes up again, he realizes that she is gently rocking them while humming an ancient song. He smiles a little bit as this reminds him of the times he got scared and his mother would take him into her arms and do the same thing to comfort him.

“Better?” She stops humming to ask the question and Merlin is embarrassed for taking comfort like a child.

“I’m sorry,” He pulls away and then looks down to see that the blankets fell when he had sought comfort in her arms. He yelps and turns bright red as he yanks the blanket to cover himself up again. Danu laughs and it echoes through the small building.

“Oh Emrys, it’s not like I haven’t seen it all before,” She grins at him with mirth still in her eyes, “I have been keeping an eye out on you as you grew up.”

“You have?” Merlin looks perplexed, wondering why the Great Goddess would take such an interest in him.

“Yes silly boy,” She replies, “I have a personal investment in your life.”

“It’s because of my destiny, isn’t it?” Merlin asks, knowing he screwed it up. How is he to protect Arthur now that he’s forbidden to come near him.

“Partly,” Danu nods her head slightly, “I think you’ll feel better if you got dressed and eat something.”

As soon as she mentioned it, his stomach decides to growl loudly, proving her right. He blushes again, thinking that he’ll be permanently red by now. Danu just smiles knowingly and stands up, waving her hand and clothes appear on the bed for Merlin.

“For your modesty’s sake, I’ll go outside while you get dressed,” Danu says as she heads out of the room, giving Merlin a chance to be alone for a few minutes.

Once she’s gone, he lets out a breath that he didn’t know he was holding. He’s not sure what to make of the Goddess as he gets the feeling that he’s missing half the conversation. Not wanting to have her come back in the middle of him dressing, he pulls back the covers and stands up, a little wobbly. He sits back down, on the edge of the bed and grabs the black leather breeches to put them on first. They feel smooth and snug against his skin, but very supple. He then slips on the dark blue tunic with silver trim, marveling on how soft the fabric feels. Over the tunic, he puts on the black corded belt and once he has it tied, the door opens again.

“Thank you for the clothes,” Merlin was surprised by the fact that she didn’t let him put on his old clothes.

“They are yours,” Danu replies with a smile, “Consider it as part of a birthing day gift as you’ll receive many other gifts to catch up to the ones I’ve missed.”

“You don’t have to,” He lowers his eyes, uncomfortable with getting expensive gifts despite the fact that she could create them out of thin air.

“Nonsense,” Danu waves her hand as though she is used to getting her way done, “its part of your birthright.”

“My birthright?” Merlin now knows he’s missing something. She sits down at the table and gestures for him to join her. He sits in the only other chair, opposite of her, wondering if she’s going to explain things. Instead, she just smiles and suddenly there is food on the table. All of Merlin’s favorites are there from the sneaking off of Arthur’s plates during dining service or filched from the royal kitchen and even dishes from his childhood that he’s enjoyed. There is also a goblet in which he assumes is filled with a sweet wine.

“Eat,” She insists, “Your curiosity can wait while your stomach cannot. You have been undernourished in the mortal realm.”

“Thank you,” He grins at her for the first time since he’s been here, finally having someone understand that he needs more food than what people think he should be eating. Well except for Bertha, the royal head baker, who allows him to sneak a few goodies under her approving watchful eye. He digs in, enjoying the rich flavors that grace his tongue. He stifles his moans, but he can tell she’s amused by his reactions.

“Coercing magic requires energy, which is why you burn up so many calories and are so skinny,” Danu states as Merlin seems to slow down from stuffing his face, “You can wield far more magic if you allow it to flow naturally within you rather than stunt it.”

“More magic?” Merlin’s eyes just want to pop out from the implications of that. He had to learn to suppress his powers in order to prevent accidental magic and at times he thinks he has suppressed it too far during the times he needs it for spells.

She waves her hand and the food disappears as Merlin is stuffed from it all.

“Yes, you are capable of handling more magic than any mortal man could ever dream possible,” Danu answers before looking thoughtfully at him, “Do you know why the druids call you Emrys?”

“Not really, I thought it was a name from the prophecy,” Merlin answers as he never really thought about why they call him that.

“Yes and no,” Danu says, “It is the name that I gave you.”

“But why?” Merlin looks at her confused, not understanding where she is going with this.

“Why would any woman give a name for a child?” Danu asks softly, leading him into discovering the answer.

“But Hunith is my mother, she gave birth to me,” Merlin answers, though isn’t sure and doesn’t quite want to believe that Hunith isn’t his real mother.

“She is your mortal mother, yes,” Danu nods her head, “But your conception and growth in her womb required more than what she and Balinor could provide.”

“What?” Merlin feels dumfounded at what she’s telling him.

“Like Arthur, you were created from magic,” Danu explains, “Yours, however, didn’t need a sacrifice as Hunith and Balinor were fully capable of conceiving a child, but with what Nimueh did, Cernunnos and I provided direct helped with your creation in order to provide you with the extra power needed.”

Merlin is reeling in shock over what Danu told him, that two Gods were involved in his own creation are concepts that seemed to be mind-boggling.

“So, does that make you my Godmother?” Merlin asks, knowing it seems absurd, but he wants to put a label on his relationship with Danu to help make sense of it all.

“If that helps you, then yes,” Danu gives him a wide smile, “I did give you the name Emrys to signify that you are my kin and should be treated as such.”

“Which is why all the Druids seemed to practically bow down to me,” Merlin wryly smiles now that he thinks back at what little time he spent with the druids.

“And was why Hunith didn’t send you to them for training,” Danu gives him a stern look, “Otherwise, you would have had an ego bigger than Arthur’s when you first met him.”

“No,” Merlin shakes his head at the impossible thought, “There would have been no way I’d be a bigger prat than him.”

“I’m glad you are taking this well,” Danu confesses with a smile, “Because while the circumstances that brought you here are not ideal, there is much for you to do during your stay in my realm.”

While staying here would be like a dream for Merlin, he knew he couldn’t stay here indefinitely. He’s miss his mum and his friends, despite his falling out with Arthur and he knew that he still has his duty to him. Though, how he is going to accomplish that when Arthur hates him and all of magic will be a challenge.

“What will I be doing here?” Merlin finally asks, knowing that he is here for another reason.

“You’ll learn to properly accept your magic and destiny,” Danu answers.

“But my destiny lies with Arthur, how can I still help him when I can’t even be near him?” Merlin asks the crux of his problem.

“Have no worry, Arthur will see the error in his lapse of judgment and may perhaps surprise you,” Danu smiles at him, “Now then, we will start tomorrow, leaving you the rest of the day to relax and perhaps explore the woods surrounding this house, which by the way is another gift for you.”

“What, this house?” Merlin looks startled at the thought.

“Yes,” Danu chuckles softly, “This house and the woods border alongside Avalon and is the perfect home for you to come to when you tire of the mortal realm and while it is still within my domain, you’ll be in charge of this land.”

“What?” Merlin’s eyes go wide, “I can’t, I mean, I don’t think I can handle being in charge of land.”

“You can and you will,” Danu replies in a no-brook tone, “Emrys, you have a long life ahead of you and you’ll need a home to retreat as a respite from the ever-changing mortal world.”

“Wait, how long will I live?” Merlin never really thought about his life in terms of anything beyond serving Arthur.

“Thousands of years,” She levels an eye at him, “You are essentially immortal, though you can be killed.”

“What?!” Merlin instantly pushes back his chair and stands up, “No way. I can’t live for that long, what would I do?”

“Sit back down, Emrys,” Danu admonishes him and waits until he grudgingly obeys before continuing, “It is Arthur’s destiny to be king now and in the future for Albion’s direst need and it is your destiny to stand with him during those times. You will need to be there for him to smooth out the transition for him to become the future king, which means you’ll have to be aware of what goes on during the time he’s not there. Also, being the most powerful sorcerer to ever walk the Earth comes with great responsibilities, ones that you would not be able to accomplish in a mere mortal’s lifetime.”

“I didn’t think…” Merlin is gob smacked from the implications of his destiny, he didn’t think about what would happen when Arthur was needed again nor how he was going to help.

“No, which is why you would have eventually arrived here, though I am glad it is sooner than later,” Danu says, “It isn’t too late to make the situation better for you and Arthur.”

“How?” Merlin asks, though to be honest he’s a bit overwhelmed by all of this new information.

“We can talk about it later,” Danu replies, seeming to understand just how much Merlin’s head is swimming with the sudden changes, “Why don’t you take a walk to give yourself a chance to come to terms with all of this.”

Merlin just meekly nods his head, glad for the respite and stands up.

“Thank you,” He remembers to be polite before heading to the door.

“Ah Emrys,” Danu catches his attention before looking down at his bare feet.

“Oh, right,” Merlin blushes as he looks sheepishly at his feet, “Uh, I think I need boots.”

“Yes and a means of defending yourself,” Danu smiles as a pair of boots and a sword appears on the table. “While the woods is relatively safe, there are some dangers for those that go in without any protection and until you are more comfortable wielding your magic, a sword will be useful.”

“Thanks,” Merlin replies as he sits back down to put on the sturdy black boots and then straps on the light sword. He nods to her one more time before leaving the cottage. Outside, there is a small garden that is perfect for growing vegetables and herbs, and he can hear a couple of chickens from near the back. The cottage looks quaint and idyllic, which makes Merlin happy as he knows he’ll be spending a lot of time here apparently.

He sets the cottage aside in his mind and walks down the little path into the woods. The trees look like the ones around Camelot, which sends a small pang through his heart as he thinks about Arthur. He had already come to terms that on some level he loves Arthur as his devotion to the man means that there really isn’t any room for anyone else. Not that he minded, for Merlin, it had always been about Arthur and who he would be become after overcoming his prat-ness. With each step to maturity, Merlin fell that much deeper in love with him.

Now, Arthur hates him and it hurts. He already cried twice about it, which helped, but he’s not ready to move on past it. He still can’t shake the feeling that they belong with each other, more than just being ‘two sides of the same coin’. He sighs, knowing that it’ll take more than just a day to sort it all out and for the pain to lessen, so he switches his thoughts to the other reasons why he’s here.

He’s looking forward on learning more about his magic, that’s for certain. He dreams of the day, when magic is freely expressed and he is able to revel in the feel of magic. Before he started suppressing it, it used to be an extension of himself like a limb. It was the most natural thing to exercise it with his will alone. He was using it even before he could walk, that’s how ingrained it is within his very being. Suppressing it had hurt and quite possibly made it even harder to have it work, which might’ve explained why it took a few tries to get spells to work. So while he is here, he’ll be learning on how to control his magic as it should have been without the ban against magic.

He doesn’t remember how long he spend walking, but he stumbles upon a small clearing with a huge smooth rock. He wanders up to the rock and finds that it is smoothed in a way that makes it look comfortable to lounge on with a backing to put him at an angle. Shrugging to himself, Merlin climbs on top of the rock and reclines in it, smiling as it is mostly comfortable.

The spot is really nice with the wind teasing the branches of the trees and he can hear a couple of bird songs, making the scene peaceful. He keeps an ear out for anything out of the ordinary as he isn’t as stupid as Arthur thinks he is, but he goes back to his inner thoughts to sort them out.

Minutes go by and he drifts into a light doze, dreaming of an immortal life with Arthur where he doesn’t hate Merlin and in fact they become lovers, spending the evenings making love in front of the fire in the cottage.

He wakes up with a start, wondering what caused an alarm within himself, but the first thing he noticed is his aching cock. The exoticness of the dreams had taken a turn into somewhat pornographic as the last vestiges of the dream was where he was looking down to see the mixture of love and lust in Arthur’s cerulean eyes and his plump lips sealed around Merlin’s cock, taking him as far as he could go without choking.

Merlin looks around the woods, hesitating on palming his erection through his breeches as he feels something watching him. Just a few yards away, his eyes land on a man, though definitely not human. The man is very tall and muscular as he’s the only thing decorating his chest is a necklace with a small wooden pendant and tattoos the grace the upper body and down his sinewy arms. Going upwards, the most prominent feature is the huge antlers on top of the man’s thick brown hair, clueing Merlin on who it is, but once he makes eye contact with the molten green eyes that are raging with lust, all capacity for thought escapes him. His cock throbs on the precipice of release and Merlin closes his eyes as he tilts his head back with a wanton moan.

“You are looking like a man’s wet dream, young Emrys,” The man’s voice reverberates with a huskiness of virility that echoes within Merlin, liberating another moan from him, “Very debauched for a virginal offering.”

The voice sounded closer than expected and Merlin snaps open his eyes to see his vision taken up by sculpted abs that makes Merlin’s mouth water as he can visualize his tongue tracing each defined line downward to the very real heavy cock straining against the brown leather breeches. Merlin balls up his hands to prevent himself from actually touching the man, but to also use the pain from his fingernails digging into his palms to break free of the lustful waves emanating from him.

He finally forces his eyes to look up at the man standing mere inches from the stone lounge, but this time he knows better than to look directly in his eyes.

“Cernunnos,” Merlin whispers, finally giving name to the god in front of him.

“Yes, Emrys,” Cernunnos smiles down at him, “And you know what I want to partake from you.”

And Merlin did know what the God of fertility and of the land wants, nay needs. With that, Merlin unclenches his hands to reach down for the ties to his breeches, but Cernunnos just merely waves his hand and suddenly they’re open with the cool breeze teasing his achingly hot erection. Merlin gasps and then moans as he can feel his balls draw up, ready to overflow. He quickly turns on his side, knowing just one small touch, one more thought, will send him over the edge. Without any thought, his mind recalls the last visual of his dreams and with that, he came undone.

“Arthur,” Merlin half moans, half shouts as his seed shoots out, spurting onto the ground, but he doesn’t pay it any heed as the pleasure overwhelms his body and sight.

Finally, what seems like an eternity and a mere second at the same time, Merlin slumps back onto the rock and blearily opens his eyes, panting.

Merlin focuses on Cernunnos, who has collected a drop of Merlin’s seed on his outstretched finger. He watches the God open his mouth and suck on the finger, clearly enjoying the flavor of Merlin’s seed with a deep rumbling moan. Merlin watches with fascination as Cernunnos’ unfettered cock swells even bigger before discharging onto the ground, right next to the wet spot of Merlin’s come.

“A freely offered gift of life given with such love is indeed a rare submission,” Cernunnos says reverently as Merlin looks back up at him, “One that deserves a richly gift in return.”

Before Merlin could object to receiving compensation from the God, Cernunnos bends down and kisses Merlin on the lips, enticing him to open up. Merlin doesn’t struggle as he grants Cernunnos permission to enter and at once Merlin can taste the essence of the land and the vitality of life blooming inside his mouth.

Merlin moans as heat sears from his mouth to his cock before settling back up where his heart is, bringing with it a loamy scent that pervades through every cell of his body. When he finally collects his wits, he realizes that Cernunnos had pulled back, but has a hand placed over Merlin’s heart. With conflicting sensations, he glances down to see that his tunic has disappeared so that Cernunnos is touching his bare skin.

“You are now connected to the land and will be freely given what you seek whether it is shelter or nourishment,” Cernunnos cryptically remarks, “A rare gift that is bountiful as it is sacred.”

Merlin nods his head, knowing that the blessing should be treated with respect. He then looks down at his body and notices, over his heart, a triskelion tattoo similar to the one that the druids have but different. Instead of just plain lines, it looks like elegant vines swirling with leaves budding.

“It is your birthright,” Cernunnos comments as Merlin inspects the new tattoo born of God magic, “A rite of passage that should have been yours a long time ago had you live amongst the druids, though your offering made out of love has deepened the bond with the land beyond what the druids will ever experience.”

Merlin looks back up to Cernunnos, unsure if he should thank him or not. He stalls for a moment as he sit up and swings his legs so he can directly face the God.

“I won’t ever forget,” Merlin settle on promising to remember how he received his tattoo before a sudden thought pops in his head. He looks at Cernunnos, wondering if he’s going to be affronted or not before finally asking, “Can I call you Godfather? I mean, Danu says it was ok to think of her as my Godmother since both you and her did help with my conception and all that.”

Merlin holds his breath as he sees the surprised look on the God’s face and wishes he could take it back right before Cernunnos starts laughing heartily. With some relief, Merlin has a lopsided smile.

“I see you still have your daring spirit,” Cernunnos replies with a wide grin, though the chuckle can still be heard through the tone of his voice, “I had hoped that you might think of me in a more lustful relation, but knowing your heart’s desire, I will settle with being your Godfather.”

“Thank you, I think,” Merlin replies with a blush. If he didn’t pine over Arthur so much, he would have taken Cernunnos up on his offer of a more intimate relationship as the God is fertility in a virile male form and can offer more bodily pleasures than a mere mortal. But his body and heart are pledged to Arthur, so now he feels doomed to be a virgin for the rest of his life.

Before Merlin can think about the implications of how that fits in with living for thousands of years, Cernunnos claps him on his still naked shoulder.

“Now then, this calls for a celebration,” Cernunnos grins at him as Merlin wobbly slides off of the rock.

As soon as Merlin’s feet touch the ground, he feels a surge of ‘otherness’ seeping up from the earth. It envelopes him with the same feeling of Cernunnos’ kiss of vitality but with a primal feeling of kinship and he can sense the life all around him. After a few seconds, the feelings settle where he can feel the bond in the back of his mind, more subtle than the presence of his magic.

“Wow,” Merlin grins as he realizes how connected he feels to the land, “It’s like I’m _of_ the land but at the same time a part from it.”

“As it should be,” Cernunnos nods his head before two tankards appear in his hands and he hands one to Merlin, “Drink up and rejoice.”

Merlin grins as he takes the offered tankard and takes a cautious sip. He’s delighted in the sweet yet heady flavor of the mead and takes a bigger sip. From somewhere in the woods, music can be heard and suddenly creatures come into the small clearing both magical and mundane, deer, foxes, dryads, sidhe, elves, bears, and many more. The intimate celebration becomes a revelry as the creatures dance and mingle. Merlin laughs and joins in the fun with drink in hand that never seems to be empty. All eventually approach Merlin to offer congratulations or to touch the newly bestowed tattoo before moving on in which Merlin doesn’t mind as he’s enjoying himself immensely. Food had appeared on the rock lounge, mostly things gathered in a forest like mushrooms and wild vegetables, but also of cooked meats and candied fruits.

He doesn’t know how long the party lasted other than the sun had set hours ago and faerie lights had illuminated the party, but with the mead running through his body he was having fun dancing and socializing with those around. He knew he was getting tired when he stumbled into the solid chest of Cernunnos, who wraps his arms around Merlin.

“Ah, young Emrys,” Cernunnos chuckles as he runs his hands up on Merlin’s still naked back which tingles his nerves with pleasure. He never got his tunic back, but Merlin is still flushed with heat from the alcohol and dancing so he doesn’t mind, “You look ready to be asleep on your feet.”

As soon as Cernunnos says it, Merlin yawns as the energy of the party leaves him bereft of stamina. In an instance, Cernunnos sweeps him up in his arms and Merlin gives a half-hearted protest.

“Let me take you back to your home,” Cernunnos offers as Merlin curls his arms around the God’s neck and rests his head on his shoulder. He closes his eyes as Cernunnos moves with a gentle rhythm, lulling him into sleep.

Merlin resurfaces, still half asleep as he notices that they’re now inside and he can hear Cernunnos and Danu whispering though he missed the beginning.

“He needed cheering, Danu,” Cernunnos rumbles softly as Merlin can feel the vibrations, “And he was on that rock like an offering I couldn’t deny. It’s a shame his heart is set on that prince of his or I’d claim him for myself.”

“I know, but their destinies are intertwined so tightly that nothing can break them apart, not even us,” Danu whispers softly, “However, it is a good thing you came to him. He needed to reconnect to his roots in order to understand who he is.”

Cernunnos stops moving and pauses before settling Merlin in his bed and pulls up the blankets to cover him. Once Merlin is comfortable he feels Cernunnos press his lips against Merlin’s, kissing him good night before leaving.

“I know you’re partially awake, Emrys,” Danu says softly as she leans over him, “Today, you reconnected to the land as it is your birthright, however, tomorrow you will begin to reconnect with magic, which is far more fickle. During your stay here, we will help you tame the magic until it is under your command and comes to you as readily as the land has accepted you.”

Merlin struggles to say something, but sleep beckons him as she kisses his forehead and murmurs a good night. He falls back to sleep, dreaming of the cool, comforting touch of the land becoming his rock of safety and the flash of Arthur’s eyes regarding him with curiosity.

~@~

Merlin wakes up, surprisingly refreshed considering how much he drank and partied last night. He sits up and stretches as the morning sun filters through the windows and he can hear the birds singing.

“Good morning, Emrys,” Danu startles him as she greets him with a smile from the table that is set with breakfast.

“Good morning Godmother,” Merlin replies as he takes the covers off and then with a yelp, he covers himself back up as he realizes he’s naked again. Danu chuckles and points to the wardrobe that Merlin must’ve missed when he first looked at the room.

“Do my clothes disappear at night?” Merlin grumbles as he wraps a blanket around him before getting out of his bed.

“Not without a little help,” Danu replies teasingly. He opens the wardrobe to see several tunics ranging in colors of blue, red, and black, a few robes of varying degrees of formality that he guesses are suitable for a sorcerer, breeches that are either brown or black, and other clothing related items. He picks out an outfit and struggles to put it on while trying to maintain his modesty with the blanket.

After getting dressed, he sets the blanket back on the bed, reminding himself to make the bed after breakfast before heading to the table.

“I think you’ll still be too skinny for the rest of your life, but at least I can make sure you don’t look like you’re starving,” Danu comments as she indicates for him to start eating. He digs into the poached eggs, toast, and sausage as like with yesterday’s lunch, they are all his favorites and are quite good. The goblet is filled with refreshing water to quench his thirst.

“Now then, today you will be reconnecting with your magic before we can move onto learning to work with it,” Danu says as Merlin is finished eating and waves her hands for the empty dishes to disappear, “We’ll go outside where you’ll meditate, searching within yourself, your magic and bringing it back to you. You’ve suppressed it for too long that it’s retreated far inside you, which is why it is a struggle to do certain spells.”

“But why is it that I can still do some of the more powerful spells?” Merlin asks as what she says makes sense.

“Because it wants to be used by you,” Danu explains, “I think you’ll understand better once you’ve looked within yourself.”

“What if… what if I don’t want the magic?” Merlin hesitates on asking, knowing he’ll hate himself if he completely drives out his magic, but the memory of Arthur’s reaction to Merlin having magic still haunts him.

“You were born with this gift,” Danu softly answers, “and were meant to wield it as a force for good. What others think of you and of magic are thoughts founded upon fear and you can show them the error of their way just by being who you fully are.”

Merlin nods his head, understanding what she is telling him. Danu looks at him again with a smile before she stands up and heads for the door with Merlin following after her. They go outside and she continues walking until they reach the edge of the woods.

“Here you will sit and meditate,” Danu indicates a spot of grass that looks as comfortable as Merlin is going to get on the ground, “Once you’ve found your magic and entice it back to flow within you freely, I want you to repeat this spell, _golwg hud_.”

Merlin repeats the words so he can get it right before nodding his head to show he’s ready.

“Don’t worry about how long it’ll take,” Danu says, “I’ll keep watch and make sure you are not disturbed by anything.”

“Thanks,” Merlin smiles before closing his eyes. He’s done some meditation before with Gaius as Gaius had hoped it would help ground him, but always ends up asleep. This time he is determined not to fall asleep as he really wants his magic back. After a couple of tries, he falls back into the pattern of meditation with the intent of looking inside of himself. After what seems like hours, he sees where his magic has hidden deep within him, a white light caged in a black net of his suppression. Some of the magic is able to escape through the holes of the net, which is why he can still use it, but he’s unsure on how to break it free.

A whisper of a thought seeps into his mind and suddenly he’s holding a sword in his metaphysical hand. Understanding, Merlin now raises the sword and slashes at the net, cutting his magic free. Some of the magic rushes towards him, making him feel slightly giddy, but the bulk of it stays right where it is. He frowns as he thought the magic would be happy to be free, but it doesn’t appear to be the case. He moves closer, feeling the heat and roiling energy of the magic as he tries to entice it to come towards him. There is a miffed feeling emanating from the magic, like a child who has been chastised too often.

“I’m sorry,” Merlin apologizes to his magic, feeling a tiny bit embarrassed on talking to his magic, but really does mean it, “I won’t do it again.”

At his promise the magic cautiously moves forward, testing the conviction of his promise. He tries to project his sincerity to the magic, knowing that once it accepts him there will no going back to suppressing it. It will always be there with him. The magic then slams into him like an overgrown puppy overly excited on its master’s return and there is a white light surrounding his entire being filled with rapturous ecstasy. It surges within his whole body, acquainting itself with his physical body once more.

Merlin comes out of his meditation, saying the spell that Danu taught him and when he opens his eyes, the world glows. He can see little lights of color within everything, enhancing the vibrancy of the trees and plants. When he looks down at the ground he can see each blade of grass shine with an inner green light, but underneath is a very rich brown light coming from the earth itself. He looks at his hand to see the same kind of light glowing within his skin, though is streaked with a myriad of colors. He reaches down and plucks one of the blades of grass, watching as the light flares up slightly before slowing fading.

“Life and magic are the same but different,” Danu softly speaks and Merlin looks up at her, instantly blinded by the amount of light she radiates. Danu then chuckles, “Don’t worry, your magic will adapt the filter you see through so you won’t be blind sighted again.”

He opens his eyes again and sees that while Danu’s light is muted, he is still able to see the strength of her power.

“This is amazing,” Merlin gasps, finally voicing his astonishment, “Everything has magic.”

“Yes,” Danu nods her head with a smile, “Magic is everywhere, it may ebb away and lie dormant, but it can never be fully banished as it is a part of life. You needed to understand that and so will Arthur if he wants to be able to fulfill his destiny.”

Merlin nods his head, now understanding how hopeless and dangerous Uther’s ban on magic is.

“Good, now I want you to keep the spell going all day,” Danu instructs him, “You need to be able to see through it without it becoming a distraction as tomorrow you’ll be learning how to recall the spell with just a thought rather than with words until it becomes second nature for you to use it.”

For the rest of the day, he did just that though it was difficult to keep up as his magic isn’t use to being active for this long. It was startling at times, because she was right in that he’d get distracted by looking at how the magic flows within his surroundings, especially when he uses his own magic to move something. He could see the magic surging from his hand and rushing towards the fallen branch. His magic imbues the branch as it lifts up in the air. He can see the potential in using this type of seeing as he can spot objects infused with magic or when another sorcerer is manipulating magic for a spell.

His house is saturated with magic, which makes sense as Danu probably created it from magic, and with it he can also see that with more experience, he would be able to change the house, add or rearrange rooms. Perhaps even to change the whole structure of it, but he sets those thoughts aside as he still revels in just seeing the magic. Behind the house are the chickens in a coop he had heard before as well as a few fruit trees and wide clearing. He suspects that the space is there for when he wants to expand the house, but everything seems to point to him being able to live here in the long run with sufficient means of taking care of himself. Which is good as he’s not sure how he’ll be able to transport to and from this place just yet.

He walks over to the apple tree which is in bloom, ready to bear fruit, though his mouth water at the thought of biting into an apple right at this moment. Unexpectedly, Merlin sees the magic and life force from the earth shooting upwards into the tree and flowing right into one of the apple-blossoms rapidly growing into a ruby red apple. He hesitates, but reaches up to pluck the ripened apple off the branch.

“Uh, thanks,” Merlin says, blushing slightly, but now understanding of what it means for the land to provide for him, “I think we’re going to have to work out the difference between wanting and needing.”

He knows it looks silly to be talking to the ground, but he’s not sure how else to communicate with it as he’s still not sure how the druids can talk with their minds and isn’t if that would be the proper way to commune with the land anyways. Regardless, he bites into the offered apple, moaning slightly with the crisp sweet taste of it. Once he’s finished with it, he looks around to see where he can throw the remains away. He spies a hole that wasn’t there before and drops the apple core in it. The land shifts and the hole is covered with Merlin suspecting that another apple tree will grow there.

“We’re going to have to find another way of taking care of the rubbish because if a tree grows every time I eat an apple, the whole land will be overgrown with apple trees,” Merlin talks to the land a second time, feeling less silly as he now gets the feeling that it is listening to him.

During dinner, in which Danu provided for him again, Merlin asks the question that’s been on his mind.

“How long will I stay here?”

“Until you are ready,” Danu answers.

“Ugh,” Merlin sighs, “You’re worse than the dragon in cryptic remarks.”

Danu laughs before replying.

“Then I’ll do something that the dragon hasn’t done,” Danu says, still with mirth, “The length of time depends on how fast you can reach your potential. It can take a few months until you’re ready.”

~@~

The next and subsequent days that followed, in which he each time he wakes up naked, is met with Danu ready to drill him on using spells or channeling the magic. It was brutal but reminiscent of how Arthur would train his knights on a block or parry with repetition until it becomes ingrained in the muscle memory, though in this case, magical memory. Some days, Cernunnos would be there to help or make comments, other days, he’ll take Merlin out to hunt and learn to be stealthy. It was during those days he realizes that he’s not stumbling around like before and Cernunnos explains that it’s because he’s not at war with his magic anymore and is getting more comfortable in his own body.

The nights were spent either talking with the two Gods about magic and philosophy while other nights he is left alone to read or practice his magic on doing household tasks. Often, he thinks of Arthur, Gwen, Gaius, and the others, wondering what they’re doing and how they are coping without him. The nights he does think of Arthur, he gets those erotic dreams of them being together and in the morning, Danu seems to know to come a little later as he pulls down the blankets to take care of his raging morning wood.

A week after his arrival, Merlin finally voices his concerns about his friends.

“Godmother, I’m really grateful for the time to fully understand my magic and learning more spells, but I’m worried that the longer I’m here the more likely something bad is going to happen to my friends and I miss them,” Merlin says during one of their breaks as he’s past the basics of creating a shield and is now working on more elaborate ways of defending himself and others. He then adds hastily, “Not that you and grandfather aren’t good company.”

“Its fine,” Danu chuckles, “I know your friends are always on your mind and you’ll be able to go back to them soon enough. In the meantime, I can teach you the scrying spell so that you can see for yourself that they are alright.”

Merlin perks up, glad to have a way to see his friends if he can’t be with them at the moment. Danu conjures a bowl filled with water and lets it float in the air.

“This spell must be used with good intentions and not just to stick your nose in other people’s business,” Danu warns him with a stern look. Merlin nods his head, promising he’ll be considerate when using the spell before she teaches him the words.

The bowl of water floats towards him at a comfortable height for him to look in it as he casts the spell, focusing on Gaius rather than Arthur as he’s still not sure if he really wants to see him or not.

In the water, he sees Gaius in his room, working on grinding some herbs in a mortar and pestle, looking years older than just a couple of weeks. While Merlin is glad that Gaius hasn’t lost his position as court physician, he is sad that his absence had a toll on his father figure. The door opens and Gwen comes in, not as cheerful as he last saw her. Despite not having any sound, he make out his name on Gwen’s lips, probably asking if Gaius heard anything from him. The dejected look that Gwen gets when Gaius shakes his head no, breaks Merlin’s heart. He ends the spell, not wanting to see them sad any more.

“Is there any way to send a message to Gaius?” Merlin asks Danu with a pleading look as he wants his friends to know he’s alright.

“Of course there is,” Danu smiles at him and probably knowing how important this is, “Take the rest of the afternoon off and compose your letter. I’ll teach you the spell to summon creatures to your aid and you can send your message.”

“Thank you,” Merlin hugs her with gratitude before rushing off to write a letter to Gaius. He spends hours writing the letter, wanting to convey everything in a short letter as he’s not sure what to put in it nor if it’ll be intercepted by the king.

_Gaius,_

_I’m in a safe place and doing well, though I can’t tell you where I am. I know I left abruptly and didn’t have a chance to tell you anything, but you know by now the reason why I did. I don’t regret it and would do it again in a heartbeat, so long as it keeps Arthur safe. Please make sure Arthur stays safe and not let his ego get too big or his crown won’t fit anymore, the prat. I’ll write letters to the others soon._

_Take care of yourself,_

_Merlin_

He reads the letter over again, making sure there’s nothing in it that would incriminate Gaius or his friends while still making sure it told Gaius enough. Satisfied, he rolls the letter and grabs a piece of string to tie it. He goes back outside, where Danu is patiently waiting or at least knows when Merlin is ready and reappears, he isn’t quite certain as the Goddess does have other duties besides teaching him.

“Alright, I’m going to teach you how to summon a messenger bird to carry your letters,” Danu begins, “As you tie the message to the bird’s foot, focus on who you want the message to go to and give a little magic to aid the bird in finding your intended recipient.”

Merlin nods his head and after Danu teaches him the words, he is ready.

“ _Negesydd adar_ ,” Merlin releases a tendril of magic out to seek an appropriate messenger. A minute later, a blue-grey falcon arrives, landing on a low hanging branch. Merlin marvels on how beautiful she looks.

“Ah, wait here,” Merlin tells the bird as he suddenly remembers he has a bit of rabbit meat back inside. Ever since he started hunting with Cernunnos, he’s been cooking his own meals rather than having Danu providing for him. He quickly enters his house and grabs the leftover meat that he was going to snack on later before coming back out. Knowing that the falcon is still a wild animal, he carefully feeds her the pieces of rabbit.

“You are quite kind, Emrys,” Danu comments with a smile, “She will answer any calls for a messenger bird from now on.”

“I, oh, thank you,” He looks from Danu to the bird and smiles, “Maybe I should give you a name, would you like that?”

The bird, with an astonishing show of intelligence, dips her head in which Merlin takes as a yes. He takes a breath to center himself, trying to have his magic help come up with a proper name.

“Gwawr,” Merlin announces and liking the name. Apparently the falcon likes it as well as she flaps her wings and puffs up slightly with her beak slightly opened.

“Dawn, a wise choice,” Danu smiles, liking the name as well. Merlin looks back at Gwawr and strokes the top of her head before reaching down to tie his letter to her foot.

“Gwawr, I need you to go to Gaius,” Merlin says as he thinks of his mentor and father-figure sitting in Camelot, he includes a wisp of magic to make sure Gwawr can find him before releasing her.

With a shriek, Gwawr launches herself into the air, taking Merlin’s message away.

“When do you think she’ll get there?” Merlin asks, wondering about the distance.

“She’ll arrive after nightfall to prevent someone from seeing her deliver your message,” Danu answers as Merlin can see the sun is ready to set.


	3. Chapter 3

**Merlin**

Time moves fast for Merlin as after he sent that first message to Gaius, over the course of two and a half months, he sent a dozen more to him, Gwen, and Lancelot. Still unable to get a message back from them as Merlin feared if Gwawr stayed too long, someone would suspect something. But at least his friends knows he is safe and is getting better with his magic. He did occasionally use the scrying spell to see how they are faring and he broke down a couple of times to spy on Arthur. He couldn’t help himself, he still loves the prat. While his friends look to being happier, Arthur’s moods vary from looking alright to downright tired and Merlin can guess its due to the heavy burden of acting king while the real king is still weak with grief over Morgana. He hasn’t seen anything happen to show that Morgana is still actively seeking Camelot, but that doesn’t mean that she’s planning something.

Despite being so close to Avalon, the weather reflects the current seasons back in Camelot, so spring gives way to summer, creating longer days. With the help of Danu, he learned how to expand his cottage with magic, creating extra rooms for specific purposes like a room for private bathing in which Merlin enjoys relaxing in a steaming tub after a long day of channeling magic. His magic is growing in leaps and bounds as he can access it freely and with more finesse. Danu had gifted him a special spell book that only he can read as it contains powerful spells for him to learn on his own. On top of learning to hunt, Cernunnos also taught him about herbs and medicines and while Merlin never wants to replace Gaius as court physician, he now knows how to cure ailments.

He spent summer solstice with the two Gods, celebrating the sacred holiday in the Old Ways of giving thanks and of course lots of mead, Cernunnos’ favorite drink. Danu gifted him a special room, underground, for experimenting with magic and to store precious magical potions and ingredients, in which Merlin is awed over the fact that he’ll have the space and protections to try out new spells.

It was about a month after the solstice that Danu deemed Merlin ready.

“Emrys,” Danu greets Merlin with a smile, not unlike the same one she gives him every morning, but the inflection of his name alerted him to something is different today. They’re inside the main room in Merlin’s house and Danu is in her customary spot by the table.

“Good morning Godmother,” Merlin greets her back before asking, “Has something changed?”

“Right to the point as always,” Danu chuckles, “But yes, events in the mortal realm are happening in which you are needed once again and it is time as you are ready to face the Heart of magic.”

“I am?” Merlin is surprised and nervous about Danu’s declaration.

“You are,” Danu nods her head, “I have every faith in you succeeding on taming the Heart and once you do, you’ll resume your destiny amongst the mortal realm.”

“I guess I’ll go pack,” Merlin replies, elated now that he’ll be able to actually see his friends in the flesh rather than through a spell. He’ll think of a way to get back into his role of protecting Arthur later. He enters his bedroom as weeks ago he put up a wall to separate his bedding from the main part of the house, wanting some privacy getting dressed as Danu or Cernunnos has the habit of being inside when he awakens. Already on the bed is a bag for him thanks to Danu. Sometimes his magic will conjure objects that he needs, but he still cannot create items out of thin air.

He already knows he’s going to bring his spellbook and as many clothes as he can, but he thinks about popping down to his magic room to grab a few potions and healing salves as they’ll be much needed. Deciding to get them, he walks out of his bedroom and heads down the stairs to the magic room, opening the heavy oak door. The magical lights instantly light up, illuminating the thick stone walls that can withstand a magical explosion as Danu explains it. The floor has a permanent circle of protection, one that both Danu and Cernunnos blessed to protect Merlin from injuring himself or unleashing strong damaging forces. Across the room is the storage, also protected by a stone door so the potions and ingredients inside aren’t damaged. He strides across the room and uses his magic to pull the stone door open as it is too heavy for him to actually open. Inside are shelves in which he forced himself to keep organized or it’ll just be utter chaos. He grabs the meager stash of healing concoctions to take with him as he really didn’t focus on mass creation but rather as knowing how to do it. He takes them back upstairs, the magical lights turning off once the door is closed.

Merlin wraps the fragile items with tunics and breeches with the occasional sorcerer’s robe, but no bedclothes because he’s now use to sleeping naked but also because Danu hadn’t provided any. He wonders why she didn’t, but he just shrugs off the question, not sure if he really wants an answer. He’s learning that some things are best kept as speculations especially when it comes to women and especially to Gods. He takes out his black hooded cloak, knowing that despite it being summer, the nights are still cold and autumn is approaching.

He goes to his bookcase, where one shelf is dedicated to the small carvings he did as he thought about his friends. He seems to have the knack of carving the wood, though on occasion he did cheat by using magic. But, they’re gifts for his friends when he next sees them. A griffin for Lancelot as a remembrance of Lancelot’s bravery, a horned owl for Gaius in dedication for his expressive eyebrows, and a doe for Gwen as she is as graceful and kind as they are. Of course, he also did one for Arthur, a lion rearing up like in his family crest. He couldn’t help himself as when he carved the crown that sits on top of the lion’s brow, he carved the words ‘King Prat’. He’s forgiven Arthur for his actions as Merlin realized that Arthur was under a lot of pressure, but he won’t forget them and plans on trying to change Arthur’s mind about magic. He stows the wooden creatures in the pack and does a mental checklist.

_Gifts? Check._

_Clothes? Check._

_Book? Check._

_Healing things? Check._

_Cloak? Check._

_Sturdy boots? Wearing them._

_Sword? …_

Merlin looks around the room before seizing his sword and straps it around his waist. It’s just an ordinary sword, but if he’s going to travelling around, he’ll need a mundane way of defending himself. With nothing else that he wishes to carry back to Camelot or he can’t replace it, he ties the pack and slings it over his shoulder, groaning a little bit from the weight. He hopes he doesn’t have to travel far with carrying that all the way.

“Ready,” Merlin announces to Danu with a grin. Danu nods her head and holds out her hand.

“I’ll transport us back into the mortal realm where the Heart of magic is,” Danu replies as Merlin takes her hand. A flash of white light engulfs his vision, but the next thing he sees is that they’re on the Isle of the Blessed, right next to the altar. He looks at the spot where Nimueh died and doesn’t regret killing her.

“Through that door way lies the Heart,” Danu points to the ruins where an archway is still erect, “It used to be the high priestess’ position to use the Heart of magic for the benefit of all, but ever since Nimueh tampered with it to her own benefits, it has not accepted anyone worthy to tame it. Once you’ve entered the Heart, you will have to tame it, bending it to your will before it will accept you. I won’t lie to you, you may die in there, but I believe in you succeeding, for when you succeed, you’ll be in charge of keeping it safe for the rest of your life.”

She kisses his forehead in a blessing before taking a step back. He swallows nervously, but then grins as he remembers that he’s faced several obstacles in his adventures with Arthur and with the few months of training, he feels confident in his abilities. He sets his pack down and takes off his cloak and sword before walking up to the archway. He glances back at Danu, who looks proud of him, which gives him a boost of confidence. With a calming breath, he steps through the archway and walks into a white light.

Just like his magic being a core of iridescent light, the Heart is a much bigger version, bigger than a house. The magic crackles around him like lightning, but he’s not singed, not just yet at least. He puts his hands up in front of him before taking a step forward, somehow knowing that if he can reach the middle of the Heart, he can tame it. The Heart pushes him back, but he grits his teeth as he continues to strive forwards, determined to conquer it.

Each step is earned through agony and fortitude as the Heart attacks him with sheer power. His own magic comes up to his defense, pulling up barriers to take the brunt of the attack as he continues his journey to the center. He doesn’t know how long it takes him, but he knows he’s so very close to the center as the Heart increases its attacks against him. He stumbles as his magic gives out, exhausting all his reserves, but he keeps going. He thinks about how his friends are counting on him, how Arthur needs him despite thinking otherwise and it’s with the thought of Arthur that Merlin dredges up the last bit of energy to take the last step into the center of the Heart.

Surprisingly, the center is calm, like the eye of a storm and it is there that Merlin struggles to stay standing. He knows it’s not over yet, he still needs to have the magic accept him. He keeps Arthur and his love for him in his own heart as he stands straight. Holding out his arms, he invites the magic inside of him and for a split second nothing happens.

The magic surges into him like a tidal wave of energy, battering against his physical and magical body before suffusing inside. It’s painful as the magic burns within him, singeing every nerve of his body and he yells until his voice gives out.

He wakes up with the sensation of floating in warm water before he opens his eyes. He grins as he sees the Heart, now tamed, is holding him aloft, caressing his naked body with golden energy. He then groans as he realizes that he’s naked.

_What is it with magical things and wanting him naked?_

Merlin looks down and gasps at the new addition to his tattoo. Circling the vine Triskelion are interwoven strands, forming a complex pattern and the Triskelion itself has been modified as in the center is a detailed dragon rearing up like the Pendragon lion. The whole tattoo is no bigger than the palm of his hand, which makes the intricate details that much more impressive.

Finally, wanting to be put down, the magic responds and gently lowers him to the floor until he is standing on his two feet. He sighs as he realizes that he’ll have to walk out, naked, and that he actually liked that black tunic. With a whisper around him, the Heart wraps his body, reproducing his clothes to cover him like as an apology for burning them. He grins, grateful to be clothed again, but the Heart isn’t finished as a small sliver of its enormous power in a white crystal form floats in front of him. He reaches up for it, but the Heart had other ideas as a wooden staff forms to encase the crystal at the top.

As soon as his fingers touch the staff, he knows that it is made just for him just like Excalibur is for Arthur, but in the case of his staff, no one will be able to wield its power except him. It won’t accept anyone else.

“Thank you,” Merlin smiles at the magic around him as he cradles the staff to his body. With that, the magic gives him a gentle nudge towards the door and he chuckles, “Can’t wait to get rid of me, eh?”

The magic gives him another nudge.

“Alright, alright, don’t need to be so hasty,” Merlin teases as he walks out, he passes through the archway and is transported back to where Danu is waiting with Cernunnos.

“I knew you could do it,” Danu grins as she gives Merlin a hug before stepping away for Cernunnos to congratulate him as well.

“You’ve done well, young Emrys,” Cernunnos beams at him before swooping in to enthusiastically kiss him on the lips. Startled, Merlin almost responds back, but instead pulls away with a grin.

“You can’t resist, can you?” Merlin teases Cernunnos.

“Trust me, I am resisting,” Cernunnos teases back, but let’s Merlin see the lust brimming underneath. Merlin swallows, not wanting to push the virile God into overlooking Merlin’s feelings for Arthur as he knows the God can do things that could make Merlin forget all about his love.

“This would be a cause for a celebration, but you have things to do,” Cernunnos changes the topic with a wry smile, “So we’ll have to do it another time.”

“Yes, you must be going,” Danu nods her head in agreement, “We can’t dictate where and what you should do, but I recommend heading towards Camelot.”

“Thank you, Godmother,” Merlin nods his head to her before nodding to Cernunnos, “Thank you, Godfather. Will I be able to see you again?”

“You will never be rid of us,” Danu replies with a secretive smile, “But if you ever feel like coming home, come back to this isle and walk through the archway again while thinking about returning. The magic will transport you and whomever you wish back.”

Merlin grins with excitement as he can come back whenever he wants. He puts his sword and cloak on before picking up his pack, ready to go with his staff in hand, humming.

“One last thing before you leave,” Danu stops him from leaving, “You are now the most powerful sorcerer to ever live and a part of that ability is that you can change people’s destiny. Though you can’t change yours or Arthur’s, but those that are linked with your destiny can be changed, perhaps even for the better.”

“I’d rather not have that kind of power,” Merlin’s eyes go wide at the thought of having that much power which scares him even more than having all of magic at his beck and call. It’s like playing God with people’s lives and Merlin doesn’t want that kind of responsibility, “But I’ll try to use it wisely.”

“Which is why you were chosen to have it,” Danu replies, “It still requires great effort to change what has been foretold, so it will not be casually accomplished, but the magic will help you when you need to.”

Merlin sighs in relief, knowing that he won’t be doing it on a whim. He gives the Gods one last smile and wave before walking down to where the boat would be, or at least he hopes the rickety boat will be there otherwise, he’s not sure how he’s going to get off the island. He’s in luck as he sees it there, waiting for him. He smiles as he steps into the boat and settles in it before using his magic to propel it back to the main land.

Once he steps onto land again, he grins as the land thrums with rejoice, eager to help him in any way. Thankfully, he doesn’t have any needs that it can meet otherwise his first time back will cause an uproar if anyone saw him. He takes a look at his very obvious staff and cringes as he tries to figure out a way to disguise it. As though it can hear his thoughts, the staff disappears and Merlin comprehends that when he needs it, it’ll reappear for him.

He draws his cloak tighter as there is still a chill in the air this early in the morning before picking up his pack again and heads in the direction of Camelot.


	4. Chapter 4

**Arthur**

The first week and a half for Arthur was pure misery. He regrets his harsh words with Merlin and is sick with worry for his friend. The kitchen staff is still barely civil towards him, but there are no extra sweets that only Merlin could somehow entice them to part with for Arthur. Gwen scarcely speaks with him other than when it’s necessary and his men… for those that adored Merlin, which quite frankly was most of them, they were coolly cordial with him. The only good thing, which makes him miss Merlin that much more, is his temporary manservant being very efficient in his duties.

It wasn’t until Gaius showed him the first letter Merlin sent, proving that he’s alright. Arthur was elated to know that Merlin isn’t dead or suffering some fate worse than death. With that letter, he had hope that one day Merlin will return to him, to Camelot. But the Gaius started questioning Arthur’s intentions about having Merlin back as Uther’s son and heir, he would be expected to uphold the laws. Gaius had told him it would be best if Merlin did stay away, but Arthur vehemently shot that down, which prompted Gaius to ask about his feelings for his former manservant.

Arthur spent the next week, when he could spare the moments, on inspecting his feelings and thoughts about Merlin. On one hand, Merlin is his friend which he readily admits to himself as he begrudgingly enjoys Merlin’s company and complaints about pretty much everything. He does notice the changes within himself, he’s less cocky and more understanding, all due to Merlin’s influence. He is a better person because of Merlin. But that doesn’t seem like enough to evoke such intense feelings for the servant, it’s almost like the same depth of feelings he had for Gwen, which startles him.

He spent a whole evening probing his feelings for Gwen and realized that they’ve changed. He doesn’t love her as intensely as before, which makes him sad because she is a great woman and he loves to hear her opinion on matters. That next day, he tracked her down as he didn’t want others to overhear his conversation with her, which brought everything into perspective.

“Gwen, I’d like to talk to you,” Arthur speaks softly to her when he found her in the laundry area. She still has castle duties now that she’s no longer the maid for Morgana.

“Of course, Sire,” Gwen curtsies to him before leaving the other girls to continue to work on the laundry. He takes her into an unused area of the castle as he really wants privacy.

“Gwen,” He looks at her, noting she’s been looking better as her mocha skin seems to shine again, but any feelings to declare his love for her aren’t there and he frowns, “I don’t love you anymore.”

“Sire? Arthur?” Gwen looks at him puzzled at what he said.

“I’m sorry, that came out all wrong,” Arthur apologizes, “I mean, I used to love you so much that I was willing to defy my father to marry you. But now, I don’t know when exactly, but I don’t have that same desire to do so. I don’t love you as much or in that way anymore. I do value your council and your thoughts as I want to make you an advisor because you know what the people want.”

“Oh Arthur,” Gwen giggles and Arthur is taken aback by it, “I know you don’t see me like that anymore and I know when it happened.”

She pauses to look at him and Arthur feels like he’s going to go mad at the suspense. She must’ve finally saw how desperate he wants to know when.

“You really are a clotpole,” Gwen laughs, using Merlin’s made up word for him which frustrates Arthur even more, “You used to give me those heated looks across the halls and track me with your eyes when you didn’t think I’d notice. And I saw the jealousy rise in your eyes when I talked with other men, trying to nonverbally tell them I belonged to you, that I was yours. But that all stopped.”

She pauses again and Arthur is about ready to strangle her. _It must be a woman’s thing to know what infuriates men the most_ , he thinks to himself, trying to prompt her to finish.

“It stopped when you _really_ noticed Merlin and doing those same actions that you used to do with me,” Arthur almost cheers with triumph when she finally finishes, but he stops himself as the words sink in while Gwen goes on, “You love him.”

“What?!” Arthur successfully moderates his voice so he doesn’t sound like a girl, but nonetheless, he’s shocked by her revelation, “Its _Mer_ lin for god sakes, that’s insane.”

“Yes, but its Merlin,” Gwen is grinning as she is apparently enjoying this far too much, “You always teased him for having a bit of insanity, but I think it’s time you realize that you’re a bit insane too.”

“Also,” Gwen is still grinning as she continues, “I’m not the only one who’s noticed.”

“What?” Arthur’s eyes go wide, “Who else?”

“Gwaine,” Gwen states, “Lancelot told me that every time you call Merlin your servant, Gwaine replaces the word with ‘wife’ in his head.”

Arthur’s mouth opens and then he closes it as the thought sinks in.

_As my servant, you are expected to anticipate my needs/ as my wife, you are expected to anticipate my needs._

_It’s my royal right to make demands of my manservant/ It’s my royal right to make demands of my manwife._

They’ve been bickering like an old married couple. Could he be in love with Merlin, his manservant, his friend, his sorcerer? A fierce need to protect Merlin surges within himself at that last word, sorcerer. He wanted to do whatever it took to get Merlin back and he can’t deny the fact that Merlin has do magic, which means he has a strong desire to repeal the magic ban just for him. But it’s more than that, he wants Merlin by his side while he’s on the throne, when he’s out on a quest, and when he goes to bed, falling asleep with Merlin in his arms. He can picture Merlin now, sleeping in Arthur’s bed with his hair all messy and his mouth slightly opened. Of course, he can also picture himself waking Merlin up by slipping his tongue into Merlin’s open mouth, kissing him, while reaching down to stroke his cock into hardness.

“Uh, yes,” Arthur suddenly coughs while blushing at the little daydream of what he wants to do to Merlin’s body, “You’re right. I do love him.”

And he really does, but is it too late? Does Merlin now hate him for driving him away?

“Oh Gods, Gwen, what am I going to do?” Arthur now realizes he might not have the chance to have a relationship with Merlin. While unconventional, it’s not unheard of for same-sex marriages, though rarer when it comes to royalty as there is always the thought of an heir. Usually the same-sex marriage happens after the queen had given birth to a child and passes away, but Arthur doesn’t want that. He still wants to marry for love, he wants to marry Merlin without waiting for his wife to die.

“There, there,” Gwen pats him on the arm, “If we can find a way to get Merlin to come back home safely, then we can find a way to get you two together.”

“The only way is to have the magic ban lifted,” Arthur states the heart of the problem, “I’m going to get rid of the ban.”

Gwen gasps slightly, but it shouldn’t be too much of a shock for her as she’s smart to piece it all together.

“I’m going to need your help on figuring out how,” Arthur all but pleads for her to help him.

“You have my support,” Gwen pledges with a firm nod of her head.

“Good,” Arthur smiles and it feels great on taking some kind of action rather than mope around, “We’re going to have to be subtle about it as my father can still overrule me, but if we can slowly get the nobles to come around our way, we can gain their support in the repeal. But we’ll need to figure out how to apply the laws to magic, so we need Gaius as well.”

“What about the knights? Is there any way they can help?” Gwen asks.

“Good thinking,” Arthur flashes her a smile, “Most are of the nobility class and if they back up the repeal then we can bully the other nobles into doing so.”

“Maybe we should talk to Gaius as well and see what he suggests as well,” Gwen suggests and Arthur agrees. If they can get Gaius to help them first, then he’ll also know how to go about introducing the changes once Arthur is truly king.

“It’ll have to wait until I have the time,” Arthur sighs as he knows he has a meeting in a few minutes, “But I will speak to him before I do anything else.”

It wasn’t until weeks later when Arthur had enough time to spare a clandestine meeting with Gaius and explain to him about wanting to repeal the ban on magic.

“Sire, I strongly suggest you proceed with great caution,” Gaius warns with concern but not surprised, “it is still treasonous to be even discussing this kind of upheaval while Uther still lives. Are you certain this is the best course of action for the people?”

“Yes,” Arthur says with conviction, “Despite the ban on magic, we are still being plagued by magical attacks, leaving us pretty much defenseless against it. The ban punishes people who could use it for the greater good as those with evil intentions will always still break the law.”

“Very well thought out,” Gaius nods his head in approval, “You’ll need logic in order to gain the nobles’ support. I was worried that this might be a desperate attempt on getting Merlin back.”

Arthur looks a little uncomfortable as Gaius raises an eyebrow at him.

“Well, it is in part,” Arthur admits, “I want him back, Gaius. I realize that I love him and I hope I’m not too late. I want to appoint him as Court Sorcerer as I’m sure he’s earned the position.”

“You can’t,” Gaius warns him, “As much as I want him back as well, it would be suspicious if suddenly you give him a position like that as most know him as your former manservant.”

“What would you suggest I do then? Have a contest?” Arthur says before realizing that might not be a bad idea, “Actually, wait, a tournament would be good as it would get people to see what sorcerers can do and if you say is true that Merlin is the most powerful sorcerer in the land, then he’ll win.”

“That is an excellent idea,” Gaius smiles with approval, “I have received another letter from Merlin and he says he is studying magic under the best teacher.”

“That’s great news,” Arthur smiles, “Any idea on how to get a letter out to him?”

“Not without knowing where he is. I’m guessing he is sending his letters by bird,” Gaius replies, “They usually arrive at night, by the window, but the bird never stays afterwards.”

“Well, keep trying,” Arthur nods his head, hoping to have a means of actually contacting Merlin to let him know that he’s not mad at him and wishes he could come back.

“Of course, Sire,” Gaius replies, “In the meantime, I will see what I can do about aiding you in changing the law as we will have to worry about the legal changes when the ban is lifted.”

“Thank you Gaius,” Arthur replies, meaning it from the bottom of his heart, “I’m not sure what I would do without you.”

“Indeed,” Gaius says, having to have the last word.

~@~

It was a month after that conversation in which Arthur, Gaius, and Gwen worked tirelessly on finding old laws on magic and writing speeches that Arthur will give to sway the nobles and the people on the repeal that the unthinkable happened.

Arthur woke up in the middle of the night, the hairs on his body standing upright as he hears someone chanting. He quickly rolls off the bed to see a woman standing on the other side, holding out some kind of charm. Dimly, he hears the warning bell ring, but he pays it no heed as the sorceress continues her chant and the charm glows.

“Death to all Pendragons,” The sorceress exclaims as a guard finally bursts into his room and Arthur uses the distraction to snag his sword and unsheathes it. Arthur charges at her, sword in hand as she swings around to deal with him. He uses his strength to thrust the sword in her middle, stopping her chant as blood gurgles out her mouth. He pulls his sword out of her and she drops like a stone, dead.

“Sire, are you alright?” The guard asks in concern.

“Yes, I’m fine,” Arthur replies with the sudden adrenaline running through him.

“The king… the king is dead,” Another guard comes in to inform them and Arthur closes his eyes in grief.

“How?” Arthur asks softly, still reeling from the news.

“The sorceress attacked him first,” The guard reports, “The charm she had in her hand, drained him of life, leaving him….”

The Guard trails off, looking disturbed at what the king must look like now.

“Get someone in here to take her away and burn the body,” Arthur points at the dead sorceress while he takes a few deep breathes. He knew that one day his father would die and tried to steel himself for the inevitable, but having it done so suddenly shocks Arthur to his core.

“Of course, Sire,” The guard replies and does as he’s ordered.

The next couple of weeks were a flurry of activity as Arthur buries his father and ascends the throne, crowned king of Camelot. He knew his first act is to lift the magic ban, so he sequestered the nobles and began the arduous task of convincing them to see it his way and even using his father’s death as a point in that they need to use magic to protect themselves from magic. Those that have family members as a knight of Camelot supported Arthur in which he is grateful for his knights’ loyalty. The few that opposed were his father’s cronies and Arthur made strongly worded suggestions that they retire and allow their heirs to take the reins of their lands. That seemed to convince some of them to see it his way while others are off into their early retirement and the sons were more amendable to Arthur’s repeal.

Geoffrey provided the greatest asset for Arthur as he brought into light the old laws regarding magic, though they needed to be updated. Arthur called to the throne, the druid leaders, wanting their input and advice about magic as well as forming a treaty with their people. They sent a druidic council and Arthur spent two days negotiating a deal that would benefit both parties for years to come. With their help, Arthur was able to create a special tournament for the Court Sorcerer position in which when he made his declaration on rescinding the ban against magic along with introducing the new laws regarding the use of magic, he also made the announcement that the tournament will be held in two weeks for anyone approved by the druidic council to participate.

Finally, he asked the druids if they could send a message to Merlin that Arthur extends a special invitation to participate in the tournament as well as to know that it is ok to return to Camelot.

Now, Arthur prays that Merlin gets the message and arrives so he can begin begging for forgiveness.


	5. Chapter 5

**Merlin**

It felt good walking with no real sense of hurry as nobody expects his arrival, so he ambles along towards Camelot. He thinks of ways on how to best protect Arthur from afar as he’s sure that he’s not allowed to even show himself to anyone. He figures if he can get a house in the lower part of town, he can set up some kind of healing business to generate income while he can watch Arthur and Camelot.

He arrived just as the sun was peeking over the earth and it wasn’t until mid-day when he enters the Valley of the Fallen Kings that he stumbles upon a person’s camp. He really wasn’t paying attention until the smell of cooked meat reaches his nose and the sudden movement of someone holding a sword at his chest.

“Oh,” Merlin startles out of his deep thoughts and swallows nervously, “Ah, I’m sorry.”

“Emrys?” The young man holding the sword looks shocked and the sword dips down. Merlin jerks in reaction to the name and takes a closer look at the man. He’s tall with short curly hair, but it was the eyes that seemed very familiar.

“Mordred?” Merlin finally recognizes him as he remembers the little druid boy they had rescued from so long ago. Now he’s no longer little as he’s grown up into a handsome young man.

“I can’t believe you’re here,” Mordred says as he sheathes his sword, “I’d expected you to already be in Camelot by now.”

“Why? What’s happened?” Merlin asks, concerned about Arthur and his friends, fearing the worse.

“You mean you don’t know?” Mordred looks surprised, “Where have you been?”

“Ah, in a secluded place,” Merlin hedges, not wanting to let Mordred know about his new home.

“Must’ve been someplace filled with magic,” Mordred comments as he looks at Merlin’s eyes closer.

“What? Why would you say that?” Merlin asks, a little weirded out by the looks Mordred is giving him.

“Your eyes,” Mordred replies in a slightly awed voice, “they’re streaked with gold.”

“Oh no,” Merlin groans, trusting Mordred to not lie about this, but really hopes they’re not as obvious as his eyes will give away the fact that he’s filled with magic.

“Come on,” Mordred sheathes his sword, “We can talk on the way to Camelot.”

“But I can’t go,” Merlin protests as he knows he’ll have to find a way to hid his eyes. Maybe if he covers them and pretends he’s blind….

“You must,” Mordred insists as he breaks down his little camp, “It’ll be fine, more than fine really. Magic is back again in Camelot.”

“Wait, what?” Merlin is poleaxed by that statement.

~@~

While Merlin and Mordred walk towards Camelot, Mordred tells him about Uther’s death and Arthur’s repeal of the magic ban. He recounts Arthur’s passionate speech about why magic shouldn’t be outlawed, using Uther’s death as an example of how Camelot needs to fight fire with fire as well as to allow people to use magic for the greater good. Mordred also goes into about how Arthur negotiated a treaty with the druids, giving the druids an honored position of being in charge of how magic will be taught as well as help in devising a tournament for the position of Court Sorcerer.

Merlin was astounded by all the changes that happened while he was away and chuckles when he hears about the tournament, saying that it sounds like something Arthur would do. Mordred then insists that Merlin enter the tournament, which starts tomorrow. Merlin almost declined, but then Mordred mentioned that Arthur had asked the druids to send a special invitation for Merlin to come participate in the tournament. Merlin accedes though on the condition that Arthur shouldn’t know it’s him until later. He’s still not sure about Arthur’s feelings towards him and feels like he wants to prove to Arthur that he’s competent for the position before he reveals himself. Grinning, Mordred agrees and promises to help Merlin.

They make camp in the forest that surrounds Camelot as Merlin doesn’t want anyone to recognize him before the tournament. Merlin likes Mordred and as they settle down with dinner, a rabbit caught by Merlin along with some herbs that ‘mysteriously’ were found, it was then that Merlin opens up to Mordred, explaining his actions towards him as he tells him about the prophecy and Mordred’s role in it.

“That’s…” Mordred watches the fire as Merlin finished telling him about how it will be Mordred that kills Arthur, “I can’t believe it, but I’ll take your word on it. I don’t have anything against Arthur, he brought back magic and from what I hear, he’s becoming a good and just king.”

“I didn’t want to believe it at first,” Merlin admits, “But I’d do anything to keep Arthur safe, which is why I was so horrible to you that second time.”

“I felt betrayed by you,” Mordred looks up at Merlin, “But now, I can understand why you did it. I wouldn’t know what lengths I would go in order to keep the one I love safe.”

Merlin blushes, wondering if he’s been that obvious if Mordred figured it out. He knew Gwen had seen it and brought it up with Merlin, who confessed his feelings for Arthur to her, but he was sure that no one else found out.

“Yes, well,” Merlin bites his lip, uncomfortable as he’s not sure what’s going to happen between him and Arthur, “the point is that I can change it, I have the power to change your destiny so you don’t end up killing him.”

“I’d like that,” Mordred nods his head before pausing to think, “Like I said, Arthur is becoming a great king and I don’t want to be responsible for ending his life. I assume it’ll take a lot of magic to make that kind of change as it’s not easy to divert a well-known prophecy, so I want to wait until after you win the tournament before doing it.”

“Then that’s what we’ll do,” Merlin nods his head, smiling as he agrees. He really wants to win that tournament and to prove he’s capable.

~@~

The next morning, Merlin wears one of his sorcerer robes as well as his cloak, putting up the hood to hid his face, using a little bit of magic to make it stick to his head as he doesn’t want it accidently slipping. They planned on going straight to the tournament and announcing his druidic name rather than the one that most know him by, hoping that those that know it’ll be him won’t spoil it by telling Arthur. Mordred did explain that the participants have to be approved by the druids, but they both know Merlin will get it.

They get into the city without any suspicion, though Merlin is amazed that it looks like the people have already set up a celebration for the return of magic. He grins as it seems like people are rejoicing rather than living in fear of magic, which makes him feel that much better about his and Arthur’s destiny. They reach the tournament arena as most everyone is attendance to watch the sorcerers compete. Merlin sees that about twenty people are already lined up in the arena, facing the royal box where Arthur is with Gaius and one of the druid leaders.

Merlin swallows nervously as he looks at Arthur. He looks every inch the king he knew Arthur could be, standing up there as he addresses the participants and he knew that his love for Arthur hasn’t diminished. Knowing they’re going to cause a scene, Merlin stands up straight as they enter the arena.

“What is the meaning of this?” Arthur asks, apparently taken aback at their rudeness.

“I’m sorry, Sire,” Mordred bows to Arthur as they both agree that Merlin should talk as little as possible, “But I would like to request a late entrance.”

“Mordred?” Arthur seems to recognize him as the druid boy too, “You want to enter?”

“No, sire,” Mordred shakes his head, though is smiling, “I’m here to see if you’ll let my friend, Emrys join the tournament.”

With that declaration, Merlin hears his druidic name being whispered amongst the crowd. Arthur looks conflicted, but then turns his head to the druid leader to see if he gives his approval.

“It would be a great honor to have Emrys compete,” The druid answers Arthur’s unspoken question, which causes even more whispering. Merlin looks at Gaius, who is giving him a reproached, yet approving look.

“I would like to withdraw,” one of the sorcerers announces as he breaks the line to leave, “I don’t stand a chance against the great Emrys.”

Merlin smiles, knowing his reputation precedes him, but tries to control it as Arthur swings his gaze from the fleeing sorcerer to Merlin.

“You obviously have a reputation of having great skill and with a whole hearty approval from the druids,” Arthur announces, though only to Merlin he looks conflicted, “It seems that I have no choice but to allow you to participate. I do ask that you reveal yourself so that we all may know who it is that wishes to compete.”

“Thank you, Sire,” Merlin pitches his voice low, trying to disguise it, “But I would rather keep my anonymity for the time being until I win.”

“So be it,” Arthur nods his head, wise enough to know to not push the issue.

With that, Mordred pats Merlin on his arm before joining the crowd, to cheer Merlin on as Arthur resumes his kingly speech.

“The purpose of this tournament is to determine who among you are worthy for the position of court sorcerer as it is a responsibility that comes with great power to benefit all of Camelot. The tournament will have three unique trials based upon skills used for combat in defending Camelot, magical prowess to assist the people, and wisdom to ensure the best course for Camelot’s people. The first trial will be combat as you will have to fight one-on-one until there are five victors to proceed into the next trial.”

The crowd cheers at the end of Arthur’s speech and all of the participants bow to Arthur before walking off the arena grounds in order to prepare for the first round. Merlin’s first battle isn’t until much later, so he spends the time watching the other sorcerer’s gauging them on their skills and seeing who would give him the most trouble. As the day progresses, Merlin sees about half of the sorcerers aren’t up to snuff and they’re eliminated rather quickly, even his first opponent was rather weak and Merlin barely used any power to defeat him. However, it becomes clear who the top five will be.

The first sorcerer to pass through as one of the top five is a hulking man who looks more adept in a smithy that as a magic user, but he is strong enough to just overwhelm his opponents with raw magic.

The second sorcerer is the opposite of the blacksmith, where he uses his magic to enchant his sword and physically attacks his opponents, which is rather clever as most magic users have a hard time doing both magic and physical fighting.

The third victor makes Merlin nervous as he’s very powerful, but also extremely experienced with using his magic and knowing his limits. Merlin knows this one is to be watched closely as he’s not sure who would win if Merlin went up against him.

The fourth is a woman, which surprised many people, but she proved her worth as she nearly killed one of her opponents. It was quick thinking on her part to save her opponent’s life that really won Merlin’s admiration.

The last winner is now between Merlin and a sorcerer that Merlin’s been watching carefully as he’s ruthless. He killed one opponent and severely maimed another. Clearly he’s not a crowd favorite, which means the people are all cheering for ‘Emrys’ as he steps into the arena. His opponent was ‘booed’, but it didn’t bother him as he’s solely focused on Merlin.

“I’m going to be famous for killing the great Emrys,” The many says quietly with a sick grin that makes Merlin want to puke.

“We’ll see about that,” Merlin replies, putting confidence in his voice. He can see the man is already deceptively gathering magic into his left hand and Merlin knows that as soon as the flag goes down to start the fight, he’ll attack first.

Out of the corner of his eye, he sees the flag drop, signaling the start and he immediately jumps and rolls out of the path of the sorcerer’s fireball. As soon as Merlin is back on his feet, with his hood still obscuring his face from the others, he creates a mini whirlwind similar to the one he did in Ealdor. He pushes the wind towards his opponent, using it as a distraction for a binding spell.

He casts a spell and it takes in the form of a huge magical snake, slithering towards the other sorcerer. As the sorcerer uses his magic to push the whirlwind away from himself, he doesn’t notice Merlin’s snake until it starts entwining up and around his leg. Merlin quickly dissipates the wind storm as it is dangerously close to the stands. The sorcerer grunts as he tries to blast the snake off of him, but the beauty of this spell is that any part of the snake that is cut off will regrow. Unless of course it’s the head in which the sorcerer deduces and manages to cut it off with a knife. Merlin thought it was a good spell despite the obvious flaw.

The sorcerer fires off a lightning bolt, which is what killed his last opponent as there was no time to defend or dodge. Merlin however, has the distinct advantage of slowing down time right as the sorcerer shouted the words. Merlin sees that the lightning is already a few feet from the sorcerer’s hand and so with the time in suspension, Merlin walks over to one of the guards and pulls out his sword. He then walks back to where he was and thrusts the sword into the ground, so the lightning will hit that instead of whatever will be in its path. He then moves to be behind the sorcerer and pauses to look at Arthur, frozen in his seat, but is avidly watching the battle. Merlin is half tempted to just climb up the fence to ‘appear’ right next to Arthur, but he doesn’t think that would go well, so he sighs and readies his next spell before ending the time freeze.

As he predicted, once time resumes, the lightning spell jolts the sword in Merlin’s place, causing everyone to cry out in fear for Merlin. He pays them no heed as he chants his spell and the crowd gasps at his ‘sudden’ reappearance behind the sorcerer. He finishes the evocation of the spell just as the sorcerer turns around in surprise. The ground underneath starts to shake, but it is short-lived as columns of stone rises from the dirt underneath the sorcerer. Merlin manipulates the stone into a lattice work to cage the man in a tiny prison. He knew the spell was a bit flashy, but he wanted to impress Arthur with one of his new spells.

“Do you yield,” Merlin asks the trapped sorcerer and for incentive, Merlin has the stone fill in the holes to show that he could encase him in pure stone.

“Yes,” The sorcerer replies, grudgingly and the crowd cheers at Merlin’s victory, placing him as the fifth victor. Merlin melts the stone and have it sink back down into the earth where it belongs before walking up to where Arthur is now standing in the royal box.

“My king,” Merlin bows to him and just as he straightens, he hears the sorcerer let out a magic word. He turns to see a blot of magic heading straight at Merlin and before he could react, his own magic comes in his defense with a rebounding shield that reflects the attack right back at the sender. The sorcerer’s own magic bounces off Merlin’s shield and returns back to him, killing himself. The crowd had gasped at the sorcerer’s treachery, but cheers as he is now dead.

“I congratulate you on your quick thinking,” Arthur says once the crowd settles down, “You are the fifth victor and will proceed into the next trail which begins tomorrow.”

The crowd cheers once again and starts to celebrate the first trial being over. Merlin smiles as he bows at Arthur before taking his leave.

: _Congratulations, Emrys_ : A voice says in Merlin’s mind and he looks around to see who it is. He spies the druid leader looking at him intently.

: _Thanks_ : Merlin replies as he inclines his head towards him, : _Just don’t let Arthur know who I really am, please._ :

: _I promise_ : The druid leader says before adding, : _I’m looking forward on seeing what magical feat you will accomplish tomorrow_ :

_Me too_ , Merlin thinks to himself as he realizes that tomorrow he’ll have to do something impressive in order to be one of the top three for the final round. Not that it wouldn’t be difficult for him, but he’d rather not show off too much or people will expect him to do it all the time.

Gaius approaches him, looking at him curiously and Merlin grins, knowing that Gaius knows his druidic name.

“Hello Emrys,” Gaius smiles at him, “I had hoped you would show and I’m so glad you have.”

“I almost didn’t,” Merlin admits, “But luckily I ran into Mordred, who told me what was going on.”

Gaius discretely looks around at the still crowded area.

“Meet me in my workshop two hours after sunset,” Gaius whispers to him and Merlin nods his head, “Good, I shall see you later.”

With that Gaius leaves him and Merlin heads towards the city. Mordred finds him and hands him his pack as he walks alongside, discussing the first trial in detail. They both agree that Merlin’s biggest competition is Froki, the third victor. They head to an inn, one that isn’t so frequented by the knights as Merlin still doesn’t want to let anything slip. The innkeeper, seizing the opportunity of having one of the top five sorcerers stay in her inn, gives them a room for free.

Not wanting to be stared at all evening, Merlin had the innkeeper send up an empty tub and dinner for himself. Mordred elected to stay downstairs to enjoy the revelry and to give Merlin some privacy for his bath. Once it is ready, Merlin heads into their room and uses magic to fill the tub with heated water. He strips and blissfully enters the steaming tub as he has a new love of being clean.

After he is cleaned, Merlin dries himself off and puts on a pair of breeches before laying on the bed with the plate of food floating in the air for easy reach to pick off. He pulls out the spell book and starts flipping through it, hoping to find a spell to disguise his more obvious features. Mordred enters the room and raises an eyebrow at Merlin.

“That’s an interesting tattoo,” Mordred points out, not bothered by Merlin’s half-naked status.

“Hm?” Merlin looks up from reading a spell on glamouring before looking back down at his chest tattoo and then sheepishly adds, “Oh, yeah. I got it when both the land and magic accepted me.”

Merlin didn’t want to go into detail about how exactly he got them, but Mordred just nods his head, understanding the significance and importance of the tattoos.

“I found a glamour spell that’ll help me go about unnoticed,” Merlin grins, glad that he doesn’t have to do that aging spell. He hates the rickety feeling of being old.

“That’s great,” Mordred grins in return, “You better hurry though because you’ve got about half an hour before you promised to meet with Gaius.”

“Crap,” Merlin leaps out of the bed and quickly puts on a tunic before going back to the book. He memorizes the incantation, noting that he has to have the look of what he wants people to see firmly in his mind as he casts the spell. With a calming breath he pictures himself having blond hair with green eyes and a different shaped nose. As he keeps that in mind, he utters the words and he feels the magic overlay his face.

“What do you think?” Merlin asks as he tries to gauge Mordred’s reaction with how successful the spell is.

“You don’t look like Merlin,” Mordred answers with a grin, “How does it feel?”

“Odd,” Merlin answers with a twist of his lips, “Like there’s a mask over my face.”

Merlin looks at the book again to memorize the canceling spell so that Gaius can see his actual face before putting on his boots. He bids Mordred goodbye and happy use of the tub before leaving the room. He checks to make sure nobody is watching before he heads down the stairs and out of the inn.

His trip sneaking into the castle was uneventful as he uses his knowledge of the castle’s layout and magic to dodge the guards and servants still working. He opens Gaius’ door and smiles as he closes it.

“I’m sorry but unless it’s an emergency, I’m not on duty,” Gaius tells Merlin, who is grinning even more.

“Gaius, it’s me, Merlin,” Merlin announces gleefully before saying the words to break the enchantment. He knows it works as the mask feeling vanishes, but also when Gaius gasps in surprise.

“Merlin?” Gaius moves closer to inspect his pseudo-son, “You’re eyes.”

“I know,” Merlin replies, still grinning like a madman. Then in a rush, Gaius hugs him tightly.

“My dear boy, I’m so glad to have you back,” Gaius’ voice is thick with emotion as he pulls back to take a closer look at Merlin’s face, “I bet there’s a story behind those eyes.”

“There is,” Merlin grins, “And you might not believe it.”

They sit down and Merlin regales his time spent in the God’s presence, telling him everything that happened. When he gets to the part where the land accepted him, blushing while he glosses over some of it, he takes his tunic off to show him the tattoo. Gaius was amazed at the intricate detail of the tattoo, commenting that it is more elaborate than the norm. However, Merlin continues his story and when he gets to the Heart of magic bit, he points out in the tattoo that is from the magic’s acceptance. It took Merlin almost three hours to finish his tale with Gaius asking questions to clarify some parts.

“It is quite fortuitous for you despite the reasoning behind it,” Gaius says delicately after Merlin finishes his story, “And you’re right, if it were anyone else telling me this, I wouldn’t believe them, but only you could have these kinds of events happen to them.”

“Thanks,” Merlin ducks his head slightly, knowing that strange things seem to happen to him.

“It is getting late,” Gaius suddenly announces, “And you have a tournament to win tomorrow.”

“Yes, Arthur’s going to be so surprised when I finally reveal myself,” Merlin grins at the thought of Arthur looking poleaxed.

“While I don’t condone his rash behavior towards you that day, do remember that he has been under a lot of stress since Morgana’s coup,” Gaius gives him a stern look.

“I know,” Merlin nods his head, “and I’ve forgiven him, but I won’t forget it.”

“I’m sure he hasn’t either,” Gaius replies, “But I don’t think he has forgiven himself.”

Merlin just nods his head again, not sure what to say. Until him and Arthur have a talk, their entire relationship is going to be strained.

“Goodnight Gaius,” Merlin finally says.

“Goodnight Merlin,” Gaius replies.

~@~

The next day, Merlin was a ball of nerves as he’s still trying to work out the spells in his head to show off his magic for everyone. He donned on his cloak and redid the spell to ensure that his face will still be obscured. Now it’s all about waiting for Arthur to finish his speech about wanting to see what each are fully capable of while in the service of Camelot.

The blacksmith is up first and instead of presenting his magic in the arena, he walks over to the adjunct forest. Everybody is watching, wondering what he’s going to do. Merlin can see the gathering of magic surrounding the man and he’s impressed by just how much he can hold. He stretches out his arms and with a word and a thunderous clap, the man uses his magic as a battering ram, mowing down scores of trees in its path.

The people in awe at first but then clap and cheer, but in Merlin’s mind the land clamors its protest on the sudden destruction of the forest and he whimpers on the loss of life. The Heart of magic whispers in his mind on how to repair the damage and Merlin listens, not paying attention as the enchanter goes up for his turn. Merlin barely sees the dozen swords held up in the air, fighting each other as he’s still reeling from the land and magic’s reactions.

Merlin couldn’t take it anymore and so when Froki walks up for his turn, Merlin interrupts him on the arena ground.

“I’m sorry, but I would like to go next,” Merlin announces, pleading with Arthur and Froki, knowing he’s breaking the order, but he can’t let the land still feel wounded like this.

“I’ll allow it if Froki is willing,” Arthur says as he looks down at them.

“It is fine by me,” Froki replies and bows to Merlin for him to proceed.

“Thank you,” Merlin whispers to Froki before walking towards the damaged forest. The land is still upset over the destruction, but at least quietens down as it realizes that Merlin is going to do something about it. Merlin holds out his hand, knowing that the Heart’s staff will appear as the magic is surging within him to fix this.

The crowd gasps as the staff appears in his hand and he grips it tightly as more magic swell inside him with the addition of the Heart. He points to the damaged area with the tip of the staff, using it as a focal point to steer his magic through.

“ _Ail Dyfiant_ ,” Merlin all but shouts as the magic uses him as a conduit to pour through and out of the Heart crystal, illuminating the broken trees with light. The magic sparkles as tree saplings start to push through the dirt, accelerating the growth that would have taken years in just mere seconds. He continues to pour more magic into the growth, wanting to replace what has been lost. The trees and surrounding plants flourish with the aid of magic until it is nearly seamless with the rest of the forest.

With that, Merlin reigns in the magic, knowing the job is complete and the magic obeys, rushing back into him to return some of the energy it took from him to do the task. He sags heavily on the staff, looking at the regrown forest with pride as the land sings his praise. He turns to see the people in stunned silence at his display of power, which is a little unnerving.

: _That was beyond my wildest expectations, Emrys_ : The druid leader says in Merlin’s mind with approval lacing his tone. Merlin looks up at him and grins, though he hesitates as he sees the over-awed with slight fear in Arthur’s face. Regardless, Merlin walks over to the royal box and bows to his king, though out of the corner of his eye, he sees where he walked upon flowers growing in his footsteps and he groans.

“Well done,” Arthur announces with a nod of respect. Merlin only has the strength to nod back before walking out of the arena.

“Very impressive,” Froki says good-naturely as Merlin passes him, “It’ll be a hard act to follow.”

Merlin chuckles weakly, grateful that Froki allowed him to go next. He enters the tent that is for the sorcerers to rest in and he collapses in a corner, drained of energy.

He doesn’t know how long he’s passed out, but when he comes to, he’s surprised to be surrounded by briar of thorny vines. He groans as he sits up, being mindful of the thorns and blinks away the sleep.

“Good to see you’re awake,” Mordred greets him, “And in time for the next trial.”

“What? Oh,” Merlin gasps as the vines vanish and then he looks back up at Mordred, “I need to hurry then.”

Mordred smiles as he helps Merlin up, “Gaius is doing all he can to delay the next trail, but I fear Arthur is getting impatient.”

Merlin nods his head and makes sure his clothes are straightened and his hood is still on. He picks up his staff and strides out with confidence that only a nap could provide. He sneaks a glance at the ground to make sure flowers are not blooming in his wake and sighs with relief as the land decided to stop that. As soon as he steps into the arena, the crowd roars with cheer and praise. He looks to see that Froki and the woman are standing in front of the royal box, so he assumes that the other two didn’t make it into the final round. He moves to stand next to Froki, who is smiling at him. Arthur raises his hand and the crowd falls silent.

“A court sorcerer must be brave, skilled, and lastly cunning,” Arthur declares, “For it is he or she that will be granted stewardship of Camelot’s magic. We have seen their bravery as they fought against each other and we have seen their impressive skills in magic, now the last test is about their wits and knowledge. Each participant will be asked three questions and will be judged on how well they respond. Their total will be added into the whole score of their performance and a winner will be announced shortly after.”

The crowd cheers at the end of Arthur’s announcement.

“Emrys, please step forward,” Gaius states and Merlin obeys, “First question, how does one defeat an Afanc?”

Merlin smiles as he remembers one of the first creatures he’s had to face when he arrived in Camelot.

“Since the Afanc is created with earth and water, it can only be defeated by air and fire,” Merlin answers with pride.

“Second question,” Gaius goes on, “What walks on four legs at dawn, two legs mid-day, and three legs at the close of day?”

Merlin is stumped as he thinks about the question.

“Oh!” Merlin gasps as he suddenly gets the question, “Man because as an infant, he crawls on four legs, at his prime he walks on two legs, and in old age he walks with a cane.”

“Third question,” Gaius continues, “What is the strongest force on earth?”

“That’s easy, love,” Merlin states, “Because it is what motivates people to do good things, no matter how powerful they are. Love brings us happiness, joy, kindness, and loyalty. It can also make people sacrifice themselves for the ones they love, such as a mother’s love for her child, or a lover has for their beloved, or a king has for his people. And it is better to have the love of the people than their fear.”

The crowd claps at Merlin’s answer and he smiles as he steps back.

“Froki, please step forward,” Gaius calls for the next sorcerer, who steps up.

“I would like to withdraw my candidacy,” Froki announces before Gaius could ask the first question, which cause a ripple amongst the crowd, “It is no dishonor to retreat when you know you will be beaten.”

“If that is what you wish to do, then I have no choice but to allow you to bow out with grace,” Arthur pronounces.

“Thank you, sire,” Froki bows to Arthur before glancing at Merlin. : _It has been an honor to see you reach your potential and I hope that our paths will cross again, Emrys_ :

Merlin nods his head, knowing that Froki is throwing the trial for him. Froki walks off the arena grounds, still causing a buzz in the crowd.

“Well then,” Gaius gets the crowd to be silent as he proceeds with the rest of the trial, “Isadore, please step forward.”

The sorceress does, but looks nervous now after Froki’s declaration.

“First question, how would you defeat a manticore?”

“With magic,” Isadore replies, though sounds unsure, “Aim for its heart with a bolt of magic.”

“Second question,” Gaius goes on with no indication if she is right or wrong, “If you have me, you want to share me. If you share me, you haven’t got me. What am I?”

“Money?” Isadore answers, though Merlin thought the answer is secret as he knows the burden of having one.

“Third question,” Gaius keeps going, “What are you willing to sacrifice for Camelot?”

“Everything that I have to give,” Isadore says with conviction, “That includes my magic and my life.”

People clapped and cheered at her answer and Gaius looks satisfied.

“We will know tally up the scores and determine who is worthy of the court sorcerer position,” Arthur announces before the three of them, Arthur, the druid leader, and Gaius walks off and head into a guarded tent. Merlin walks over to Isadore and reaches out to shake her hand.

“We both did a wonderful try,” Merlin says with a smile, “I think it’ll be a hard choice for them.”

“I doubt it,” Isadore replies as she shakes Merlin’s hand, “You were a miracle worker with that forest, but it is an honor to have known that only the great Emrys beat me.”

“I’m not that great,” Merlin insists and there is a change in the crowd as the three come back after apparently a short deliberation.

“We are all unanimous in choosing the right person for the position,” Arthur announces as he holds up a medallion to signify the position. Both Merlin and Isadore stand close to the royal box, “Camelot’s court sorcerer is Emrys.”

With that announcement, the crowd goes wild, yelling out Emrys’ name and cheering him on. Merlin has the biggest grin on his face as he is declared court sorcerer. The land senses his happiness and suddenly the arena is filled with flowers blooming. Merlin blushes as everyone ‘oohed’ and ‘awed’ over the explosion of flowers.

“Now then, before you take this,” Arthur holds the medallion out for Merlin, “I think it is time we all can see who our court sorcerer really is.”

“Of course, sire,” Merlin bows while reaching up to remove his hood. As he straightens, his hood falls back, revealing his face.

“ _Mer_ lin!” Arthur squeaks in surprise and everyone is quiet as those that know Merlin whisper to the others on who he is.

“Hello Arthur,” Merlin replies, cheekily as he reaches for the medallion from Arthur’s loose hand.

“Merlin,” Arthur says his name again, still in disbelief, “You’re the great Emrys?”

“Yes,” Merlin replies, enjoying this immensely.

“You… we’re going to talk about this,” Arthur’s eyes narrow.

“I don’t doubt it, sire,” Merlin knows he’s being insolent, but he just can’t help himself. This is worth all those times in the stockades.

“Merlin,” Merlin hears Gwen’s voice before he is ambushed with a gripping hug from her, “Oh my God Merlin, you’re back, you’re a sorcerer, you’re now the court sorcerer. I can’t believe it. I’ve missed you.”

Merlin hugs Gwen back, so glad to see her again, “I missed you too… I can’t breath.”

“Oh sorry,” Gwen kisses his cheek before pulling away, grinning, “I’m just so excited on seeing you back home.”

“I’m glad to be back too,” Merlin responds with a grin, a little pink from Gwen’s kiss.

“Hey, congratulations, Merlin,” Percival says with a huge grin as he walks up with Lancelot and Gwaine. Percival pats Merlin’s shoulder which makes him stumble slightly.

“Thanks,” Merlin replies, grinning at the knights.

“You gave us quite the scare,” Gwaine says before he pulls Merlin right up against him to kiss him on the lips. Merlin struggles slightly as he tries not to respond, but gives in and quickly kisses him back.

“Next time princess does something stupid, just come to me and I’ll take you in,” Gwaine offers with a wink before letting go.

“You know I can take care of myself,” Merlin replies with a smile.

“I know, you’re now the court sorcerer,” Gwaine replies, “so you could just change him into a frog now.”

The knights all chuckle.

“Come now, we all know Merlin would change him into a royal ass,” Percival teases and they all laugh.

“We should head to the castle,” Gwen suggests as she grabs Merlin’s arm, “They’re starting the feast soon and Merlin should clean up.”

“They brought out the good stuff,” Gwaine grins, always thinking with his stomach, “To the castle then.”

Merlin is escorted to the castle with Gwen and the knights as they talk about the tournament and other things. Mordred joins them and they accept him in their little group readily, asking him questions on how he knows Merlin and what he’s going to do in Camelot. Surprisingly, Mordred expresses an interest on becoming a knight, which the knights then encouraged.

Soon, Gwen and Merlin separate from the others as Gwen shows him his new court sorcerer chambers, which is close to Arthur’s chambers. Inside is a standard room that has a decent size bed, a wardrobe, a small table with two chairs, a desk, and a bookcase. Merlin also sees a boy standing in the room and Merlin looks at Gwen.

“This is Edwin, your servant,” Gwen introduces Merlin to the boy, “I’ll let you get ready and will see you at the feast.”

Merlin looks at the boy who is apparently in awe of Merlin.

“Ok,” Merlin starts off, nervously, “So I know how it is being in your place and really I’m used to taking care of myself, so your duties will be fairly light. All I really need done is bed sheets changed every now and then, meals sometimes served inside, a bit of laundry, and an empty bathtub sent up. I’ll fill it with hot water, which was the part I hated the worst traversing up and down the stairs. Sounds good?”

“Y-yes, sir,” Edwin nods his head.

“Also, just call me Merlin,” Merlin smiles at him kindly, “And if I’m doing something prat-ish, just tell me.”

“Yes, Merlin,” Edwin grins at him, “I promise.”

“We’re going to get along just fine, then,” Merlin grins at him, “Now then, I won’t need you for tonight. Go enjoy the feast, but not too much because I’ll want breakfast in the morning.”

“Thank you Merlin,” Edwin gives him a huge grin, “I’ll be here bright and early in the morning.”

“Well, maybe not too early,” Merlin winks at him, “I just know that Gwaine and the other knights plan on getting me drunk and I’m such a light weight.”

“I’ll see if the serving staff can have your drinks watered down,” Edwin suggests.

“Great,” Merlin beams at him, “Now go, have fun.”

“Ok,” Edwin grins back before leaving Merlin alone in the room. Merlin quickly unpacks his bag, placing his clothes in the wardrobe, his herbal remedies on the bookcase as well as the wooden figurines that he plans on giving later, and lastly the book on the desk. He puts his staff near his bed and strips off his clothes before putting on a pair of black breeches and the dark blue and silver trim tunic. He looks at the medallion, noting that on one side it has the Pendragon shield and the other side, the druidic Triskelion. He smiles as he puts it on and makes sure he looks presentable for the feast. He does remember to place the hangover potion by his bedside, because he knew he will need it right away in the morning.

~@~

“Rise and shine,” An ungodly perky voice breaks through Merlin’s alcoholic induced sleep and he groans as the rising sunlight hits him in the face. He groans even more, his mouth feels like it has been stuffed with cotton rags and his head been used as a battering ram.

“It’s time to get up,” The voice tries again as his blankets are being pulled off his body, “Oh, I’m so sorry, Merlin.”

The apology registers in Merlin’s mind and he recognizes it as Gwen’s voice, but he’s confused as to why she’s sorry. He bleary opens his eyes and looks down to see that the blankets have exposed half his body and then he starts to understand.

“Sorry Gwen,” Merlin apologizes as he slowly gets up, trying to get the room to stop moving.

“I take it you didn’t quite make it to bed?” Gwen asks with her back turned.

“No, the place I’ve been staying at didn’t believe in bedclothes,” Merlin replies as he slowly reaches for the hangover potion.

“Really?” He can imagine an eyebrow raised as she files that little tidbit of information away.

“Yeah,” Merlin answers as he uncorks the potion and downs it with a grimace, “I really need to come up with a better tasting remedy.”

He reaches down to pull on his breeches from last night, remembering how he stumbled back in his room after drinking and barely took off his clothes in the wake of his path to the bed. The feast was great with lots of food, wine, lots of people, more wine, and revelry with even more wine. He must have talked with everybody there at least once as people came up to him to congratulate him or ask him where he learned his magic.

“It’s safe,” Merlin calls out as he manages to tie his breeches. She turns around and stares right at his tattoo.

“It didn’t really hurt,” Merlin answers her unasked question, “But it’s from a ritual to have the land and magic accept me.”

“Sounds interesting,” Gwen says with a smile, “How are you feeling today?”

“Like I drank too much,” Merlin gives her a rueful smile, “but soon I’ll be better once that potion takes effect.”

“Well I brought you breakfast to help,” Gwen points out to the plate of food she brought in.

“Why are you acting like a servant?” Merlin asks curiously.

“I’m just making sure last night wasn’t a dream and that you are really here,” Gwen answers, “As well as to see if I wasn’t mistaken on seeing you making moon-eyes at Arthur all night.”

She giggles as Merlin blushes.

“I was not,” Merlin protests with a small blush, knowing that he didn’t spend _all_ night watching Arthur.

‘Sure thing,” Gwen doesn’t believe him, “Now then, you should eat something. The first meeting is mid-morning and then you have a meeting with Owen, the druidic leader and Gaius.”

“Thank you Gwen,” Merlin smiles at her as he walks over to the table to eat breakfast.

“No problem,” Gwen kisses the top of his head, “As much as I would like to eat and catch up with you, I need to make sure Lancelot is dressed properly this time.”

Merlin chuckles knowing that the knight over-drank as well. He remembers talking to Lancelot last night about his wedding to Gwen, something he missed during the months he was gone. She leaves him in peace to eat.

The rest of the day was spent in meetings to catch Merlin up with the goings on within the kingdom and his role in the order of things. During the afternoon, he talked with Owen and Gaius about how to be a court sorcerer and setting up lessons as Merlin still needs to learn more about traditions and threats to the kingdom. Arthur managed to snag him before dinner, asking to have dinner with him so they can talk about the kingdom and magic.

Merlin was excited on seeing Arthur again, but is still hesitant on how to act around him. He hasn’t forgotten the anger behind the words as well as the words themselves, but knows he still loves him. He takes a deep breath before knocking on Arthur’s door, wondering how they’re going to interact now.

“Ah, Merlin, come in,” Arthur opens the door with a lopsided smile and gestures for him to come in.

“Thanks,” Merlin smiles back and enters the very clean room, “I guess you’ve gotten what you’ve always wanted, a competent manservant.”

“He might be good, but he’s not you,” Arthur replies a little wistful as he motions for Merlin to sit at the table with two settings of food and drinks. They both sit down and Merlin can feel the awkwardness of this dinner between them.

“I just want to say I’m sorry,” Arthur finally breaks the silence with a nervous look at Merlin, “You deserved much better than my temper being directed at you. I’m not my father, who is blinded by the evils of magic and I shouldn’t have said those things to you. I was under a lot of pressure and stress, but that shouldn’t excuse my behavior and I want to make it up to you. Anything within my power that I can give you or do for you, I will do it. Any punishment you see fit for my angry outburst, I will bear it. Anything to make it up to you.”

Merlin is surprised at Arthur’s confession and is willing to do anything for Merlin’s forgiveness.

“I, ah, need time to think about that,” Merlin replies softly, “I’ll admit, the words hurt and I wanted you to find out about my magic in a different way, but I don’t regret using it to save your life. I’d do it again in a heartbeat. You have changed for the better, you’ve allowed magic to come back into the kingdom and that’s all I would really ask for.”

“I know, I’ve done it all for you,” Arthur admits, “as well as for those that my father’s laws were unjust towards. But I want to do something for you to make up for my harsh words. I owe you my life and I repaid you with putting you down.”

“You don’t owe me anything,” Merlin replies, “I didn’t do it for acknowledgments, you’re my friend and I… care for you a lot.”

Merlin almost confessed his love for Arthur, but changed his words as he doesn’t want to make this more awkward than it already is.

“Just let me make it up for you,” Arthur orders Merlin with a small smile.

“Alright, just give me time to think about it,” Merlin smiles back. They eat in silence as the awkwardness still lingers between them. After dinner, Merlin yawns as the day is catching up with him and bids Arthur a goodnight.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally the sex scene lol. Had to get through some plot to get here, but I hope it is worth it.
> 
> Enjoy

**Arthur**

A week after the tournament and the awkward dinner with Merlin, Arthur was no further in mending his friendship with Merlin. Both have been busy that week and Merlin still hasn’t taken up Arthur’s offer to make up his behavior. That day, Arthur was in meetings all day in which he didn’t get to see Merlin at all, which was unfortunate. Arthur enjoys seeing Merlin in his new clothes and more confident in himself. He noticed the way Merlin walks, he isn’t as clumsy as before. But Arthur’s feelings haven’t changed and he’s not even sure how one goes about wooing a man let alone a sorcerer.

Luckily for Arthur, tomorrow morning is dedicated to spending time training his knights before another meeting in the late afternoon. He undresses himself as he isn’t used to anyone but Merlin undressing him and crawls in his bed wearing his bedclothes, feeling tired.

“Arthur,” He hears Gwen’s frantic voice and he’s instantly on alert. He glances out the window to see that it’s barely just before dawn.

“Gwen, what’s wrong?” Arthur asks as he sits up and looks around for any danger.

“It’s Merlin,” Gwen answers and Arthur leaps out of bed at the name.

“Is he ok?” Arthur asks.

“You need to come to his room,” Gwen replies as she tugs at his arm, “Quickly.”

He just nods his head and sprints down the hall to Merlin’s room, he sees Lancelot already there, waiting at the door.

“Sire,” Lancelot opens the door for him, “You must go in.”

Arthur just nods his head and strides right in on the lookout for anything out of the ordinary.

“Merlin?” Arthur calls out as he approaches the bed, dimly he hears the door close, but doesn’t think anything of it as his attentions are focused on the bed.

“Whut?” Merlin sits up and notices Arthur, “Arthur? What’s wrong?”

Merlin gets out of bed and Arthur swallows hard as he sees Merlin fully naked. He looks a little filled out from what Arthur remembers seeing before, making him look less starved. The most startling thing is the tattoo on Merlin’s chest. He can imagine his tongue tracing each line, hearing Merlin moan…

“Arthur?” Merlin’s concerned voice doesn’t fit with Arthur’s fantasy, which brings him out of it.

“Uh, sorry?” Arthur looks right in Merlin’s still shocking blue-gold eyes, “You’re, ah, naked.”

“Oh,” Merlin blushes and grabs a blanket off the bed to wrap himself in, “Why did you come in my room? Is everything alright?”

“Gwen told me…” Arthur frowns before looking back at the closed door. He walks over and tries to open it, but discovers it is locked, “Gwen!”

“Sorry boys,” Gwen’s voice is heard through the door, “But it is for your own good. This door won’t unlock until noon, giving you two plenty of time to talk and work out the issue between you two.”

“Gwen, everything is fine,” Merlin says to the door as Arthur looks back to see that he wrapped the blanket around his body like a toga.

“No it’s not,” Gwen replies, “And I know you can use magic to open this door, which is why Lancelot, Gwaine, and Percival will be taking turns guarding the room.”

“But I’m the king,” Arthur argues, “Lancelot, I can order you to open the door.”

“I’m sorry sire,” Lancelot replies, “But I’m in a delicate situation between you, my king, and Gwen, my wife and in this case I am going to have to side with my wife. The other knights are in agreement as well.”

“The knights won’t have the key,” Gwen adds, “So you’ll have to wait until I come back lunchtime. In the meantime, I left you breakfast and lastly… you love each other.”

“Gwen,” Both of them yell as she exposes their secret before Arthur turns around again to look at Merlin.

“Is it true?” Arthur asks as he watches Merlin blush down to his partially naked chest.

“I, ah, yes,” Merlin admits in a soft voice and downcast eyes. Arthur walks over to and reaches up to cup Merlin’s face, “For quite a long time.”

“What about you?” Merlin asks as he looks up at Arthur, biting his bottom lip.

“Yes,” Arthur answers with a smile, “Maybe not as long as you have, but I do love you.”

Arthur leans in to kiss Merlin on the lips as Merlin’s hands reach out to hold himself steady on Arthur’s hips. The chaste kiss slowly turns into a passionate one as they both realize that this moment is real. Somebody moans and Arthur isn’t sure who, but it doesn’t matter as Merlin pulls him closer and Arthur knows he moans. Arthur’s hands slide down Merlin’s neck and chest, pulling at the blanket to fall down.

He pulls back to look down at Merlin’s naked body and his eyes rest on Merlin’s erection.

“I think you’re wearing too many clothes,” Merlin says with a blush as he pulls on Arthur’s bedclothes.

“Yeah,” Arthur nods his head as he licks his lips before looking up at Merlin, “You sure you want to do this?”

“Yes,” Merlin blushes, “But I’ve never…”

“Oh,” Arthur’s eyes go wide as he realizes Merlin is a virgin, “I’ve been with a man once, so I know how to do it.”

Merlin nods his head before leans in to kiss Arthur, grinding his naked erection against Arthur’s clothed one. Both moan at the contact and Arthur couldn’t wait any longer, he pulls back slightly so he can take his nightshirt off. Merlin helps by pulling it up and over his head and tosses it onto the floor, leaving Arthur naked as well. Merlin stares at Arthur’s nakedness with desire, making Arthur swell with pride.

Arthur grabs Merlin’s hips and pressed them closer, eliciting moans as he rubs his naked hard cock against Merlin’s. It is bliss for Arthur, during the past few months he’s had dreams that involve what they’re about to do. Arthur keeps kissing and nipping Merlin as he steers him to the bed, once he feels the back of Merlin’s knees hit the bed, Arthur stops and pushes him onto the bed. Surprised, Merlin falls back and sprawls a little bit on the bed, making Arthur moan at the sight of Merlin’s naked body and kissed-bruised lips. He looks fae-like with his translucent skin, the tattoo shimmering, and Merlin’s gold-streaked eyes looking up at Arthur with love and lust.

“You look so beautiful,” Arthur says softly and Merlin blushes.

“So do you,” Merlin replies as he looks at Arthur’s naked body. Arthur climbs on top of Merlin, pushing him further onto the bed so their legs aren’t dangling on the side. Arthur palms both of their erections, eliciting more moans from the both of them as he jerks them both.

“A-Arthur,” Merlin moans with a wanton arch of his back, “Please…”

“Please what?” Arthur huskily asks as he continues to pump them both at a slow maddening pace, getting his hand slick with their precome. He’s beginning to love this wanton look of Merlin, spread underneath him.

“I need you,” Merlin gives a sexy whine that makes Arthur’s cock jump, “I-inside me.”

Arthur groans and looks around the room to see if he can find something to slick Merlin’s passage. He doesn’t want Merlin’s first time associated with pain.

“I need…” Merlin’s eyes flash gold and suddenly a small vial appears on the pillow.

“That’s really useful,” Arthur grins as he reaches for the vial and removes his hand from their cocks to uncork it. Merlin whimpers at the loss of Arthur’s hand and he pours the oil into his hand.

“There we go,” Arthur murmurs as he coats his fingers and slides his hand down to Merlin’s sweet pucker. He loves is as he watches Merlin flex while he circles his slicked finger around Merlin’s hole before slowly plunging it in.

“Oh Gods,” Merlin moans as Arthur works in the first finger, getting impatient as he cock throbs to be inside Merlin’s tight ass, but he wants to make this perfect for Merlin.

“Soon it’ll be ‘Oh Arthur’,” Arthur teases as he slides his second finger in and crooks them to find that sweet spot inside Merlin.

“Arthur!” Merlin’s back arches as his questing fingers find that special spot, causing pleasure to course through his body. Merlin’s hands clench against the bed as his body arches taunt. Arthur is ever glad to have been shown that particular spot as he watches Merlin come apart. He scissors his fingers to open Merlin wider before sliding a third finger in to accommodate his cock. He wants to make sure Merlin’s first time is met with as little pain as Arthur can give him.

“Hurry,” Merlin whines again as he pushes his bottom towards Arthur.

“Almost,” Arthur moans as he tries to be gentle with Merlin, finally unable to take it anymore, Arthur removes his fingers and coats his burgeoning erection with the oil before placing it against Merlin’s stretched out hole.

“D-don’t tease,” Merlin groans as he writhes under Arthur, eager for his cock, “I’ve been wanting you for a very long time.”

“I know,” Arthur softly says, stunned by his good fortune, “Try to relax.”

Merlin whines but hopefully he obeys as Arthur slowly forces his aching cock into Merlin. Merlin gasps and reaches up to wrap his arms around Arthur, digging his short nails into Arthur’s back. He groans as the twin sensations of Merlin’s nails and the tightness around his cock, hoping he won’t prematurely go off. Slowly, inch by inch, Arthur slides his cock to the hilt and rests as he wants Merlin to get use to him being so full as well as not wanting to come at the slightest movement just yet.

“Arthur, move,” Merlin demands as he wiggles his ass.

“So pushy,” Arthur teases with a chuckle, “You’d think you’re the king.”

“I swear if you don’t move, I’ll find a way to make you move,” Merlin threatens with a small growl making Arthur shiver with pleasure. He wasn’t aware he could get turned on even more by Merlin’s small display of dominance and he wants to explore that later as Arthur obeys and slowly pulls his cock mostly out of Merlin’s passage. They both moan at the feeling of Arthur’s cock moving inside Merlin and the moans get louder as Arthur slides his cock back in.

“H-harder,” Merlin’s breath hitches as he lifts his ass to meet Arthur’s slow thrusts. Arthur smiles as he starts to thrust with more power, going deeper and faster inside Merlin, forcing Merlin’s moans to get louder. He can almost come with hearing those lustful moans coming out of Merlin’s mouth. Merlin wraps his legs around Arthur’s hip, pushing them closer with each skin slapping thrust and Arthur isn’t sure how much longer he can last.

“Merlin,” Arthur moans his love’s name as his orgasm approaches fast, “I’m going to…”

Arthur reaches down with one hand to grasp Merlin’s weeping cock and strokes him in time with Arthur’s thrusts, wanting him to come at the same time.

“Oh Arthur,” Merlin gasps as Arthur’s hand pumps his cock and with just a few short strokes, Merlin moans loudly as thick spurts of come shoots out and his ass clenches around Arthur’s cock. Arthur moans along with him as he thrusts hard into Merlin one last time and spills his seed inside.

Arthur pants as he looks down at Merlin’s blissed out face, both are riding the after-effects with a glazed look. The bed then jolts as it hits the floor, shocking Arthur out of his post-haze.

“Was the bed floating?” Arthur asks incredulously as he looks around to see that the bed landed a little crookedly.

“I think so,” Merlin replies in amazement as well, “We’re going to have to be more careful next time.”

“Only you can make a moment like this more magical,” Arthur chuckles and leans down to kiss Merlin on the lips. He slowly slips out of Merlin, causing a groan from both of them, “I think this calls for eating breakfast in bed before we do that again.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enters Morgana with a dramatic entrance...

**Merlin**

A month later filled with sneaking into each other’s rooms and sudden snatching in the halls to steal a few kisses and groping, Merlin couldn’t think of a happier time. However, something seemed off. He did change Mordred’s destiny to prevent him from being the one that kills Arthur, though afterwards Merlin needed two days to recover. It was intense as he diverted Mordred’s fate into a different direction, hoping to weave it into a more happier one. It did exhaust him of all his energy and personal magic, in which he slept for two solid days with Arthur hovering over him. Once Merlin awoke, Arthur forbade him from doing that again and Merlin told him he’ll most likely do it again, so after a day of fighting, they both compromised that Merlin is to not do that again without preparation and Arthur’s knowledge.

The day before Samhain Merlin still feels uneasy, unsure where these premonitions are coming from so he goes to Gaius for help.

“Gaius,” Merlin catches his old mentor’s attention after the preliminary chit-chat, “I’m getting weird feelings that something bad is about to happen.”

“Like in dreams?” Gaius asks, curious and concerned.

“No,” Merlin’s face scrunches as something tickles his memories, “Wait, what ever happened with Morgana?”

“I don’t know,” Gaius replies, looking a little bewildered, “She hasn’t attacked Camelot in a while.”

“Exactly,” Merlin smiles, “Which means she might be planning on doing something soon, it’s been too quiet from her.”

“Well other than keeping an eye out for anything suspicious, there’s nothing we can do about her,” Gaius says.

“No, I can spy on her,” Merlin says as he leaps out of his seat and grabs one of Gaius’ herbal bowls. He spells some water in it and places on the table in front of them.

“You know the spell?” Gaius asks.

“Yeah, it was one of the spells Godmother taught me,” Merlin answers, “But she did warn me to not use it to ‘stick my nose in other people’s business’. It was how I knew you got my letters though.”

“Sounds like she knows you well,” Gaius teases Merlin with a chuckle.

“I haven’t used since,” Merlin defends himself, “But in this case, it’s important to know if she’s planning something.”

“ _Datgelu Morgana_ ,” Merlin says the spell as he thinks about the whereabouts she could be. In the water, it shows fog before they suddenly see a harried looking Morgana pushing a cart with her half-sister, Morgause, who’s face is half scarred and she looks like she’s dying.

“It looks like they’ve survived,” Gaius comments, “Though Morgause doesn’t look like she’s going to make it.”

“Yes, but where are they heading?” Merlin asks in frustration as he wishes there was sound.

“Ah, look,” Gaius points to the background, “They’re near the white mountains and my guess is that they would be heading to the Isle of the Blessed.”

“But why?” Merlin asks as he looks up at Gaius.

“Hm, good question,” Gaius replies, “It could be that there might be something there than can cure Morgause and stop her from dying, but why take this long to heal her?”

Gaius steps away and paces to think.

“Well the magic of the land won’t help her,” Merlin states with a twist of a smile, “And we have the cup of life locked in the vault down below. What else can they use to help them?”

“There’s something peculiar about them going to the Isle of the Blessed so close to Samhain,” Gaius mutters as he thinks, “Hm, Morgause is dying but is hanging on until…. I got it.”

Gaius stops pacing and looks at Merlin with dread.

“On Samhain, the high priestess can make a blood sacrifice to Cailleach and open the veil between our world and the spirit world where the Dorocha can enter our world. The Dorocha are spirits of the dead and they are numberless. One touch and you will be killed, they are undefeatable against magic and mortal weapons. The only way to ward them off is light,” Gaius explains, “The only way to stop them is to make another blood sacrifice to heal the tear. You must stop her Merlin.”

“I will,” Merlin promises, “I’ll need to hurry then to catch up to her. Samhain tomorrow and she’s got a head start.”

“You should take a few knights with you as well,” Gaius suggests.

“Ok, I’ll ask Arthur,” Merlin replies before getting up and leaving the physician’s quarters. He knows Arthur is in the throne room, so that’s where he heads to. Merlin got lucky that Arthur is just finishing up a meeting as the nobles file out of the room.

“Arthur,” Merlin catches his king’s attention.

“Merlin,” Arthur grins at him and walks over. Once he’s close enough, Arthur grabs Merlin, pulling him closer and kisses him, “I’ve missed you all day.”

Merlin enjoys the kissing as he kisses back before remembering his mission.

“Arthur, I have serious news,” Merlin hates to interrupt what could lead into sex. Arthur pouts as he pulls away, “It’s about Morgana.”

“What about her?” Arthur asks, instantly switching gears into serious mode.

“I know her and Morgause are heading towards the Isle of the Blessed to perform a ceremony to create a tear in the veil between our world and the spirit world, unleashing ghosts that can kill us but we can’t kill them,” Merlin summarizes the situation quickly, “I need to go stop her.”

“You’ll be taking some protection,” Arthur demands, “a few trusted knights will go with you.”

“Thanks,” Merlin smiles before adding, “I-I want to change her destiny. She is apparently the hate to my love and I love you quite a lot, so she hates you quite a lot.”

“You want to do it right away?” Arthur asks apprehensively as they both know it’ll put him out for a couple of days.

“Yes, the sooner the better,” Merlin replies decisively.

“Then I’m coming with you,” Arthur says in a no-brook tone, “I want to make sure you’re safe and I will worry too much if I’m not there with you.”

Merlin opens his mouth to protest, but the look in Arthur’s stubborn face tells him that he won’t win the argument.

“I mean it Merlin,” Arthur reinforces, “You’ll be vulnerable during that time and I can only trust myself in ensuring your safety.”

Merlin blushes slightly at Arthur’s concern over him, but knows that if it was the other way around, he would be doing the same thing.

“Fine,” Merlin gives in, “But we need to leave right now. Morgana is almost to the Isle and we must be there before Samhain to prevent them from opening the veil.”

“Harold,” Arthur calls out for his manservant, “I need the horses ready for myself, Merlin and a few of my knights. Inform Gwaine, Lancelot, Percival, and Mordred that they’re coming along in a quest.”

Merlin looks surprised at Mordred coming along, but doesn’t question it as he might be useful to persuade Morgana on stopping the ritual.

“Come,” Arthur looks at Merlin, “We need to pack for the trip.”

They both hurry down the hall and into their respectful rooms to pack for the journey. Merlin makes sure to bring a couple extra healing potions and of course his staff. He’s going up against two powerful sorceresses and while he might not need it, he wants to have the comfort of the staff. It doesn’t take him long, so he takes his stuff down to the stables and ties his pack to his own horse. Merlin was giddy with joy on having his own noble steed that had a gentle cantor. He sees the other knights are ready.

“Hey Merlin,” Gwaine greets him, “Any idea on where we’re going?”

“The Isle of the Blessed,” Merlin informs the knights, “We need to stop Morgana from unleashing the Dorocha, spirits that can kill people but magic and weapons can’t hurt them.”

“Morgana?” Mordred looks slightly worried. Merlin looks at the young knight, he earned the position of being a knight and is apparently enjoying it as he wants to protect Arthur and Camelot. Merlin is still trying to work out a way for Mordred to use his magic during combat that fits with the knight’s code.

“Yes,” Merlin nods his head, “Hopefully we can stop her without killing her, and I really want to help her.”

Mordred nods his head, understanding what Merlin really means as Merlin doesn’t want too many people to know he can change people’s fates.

“Let’s go,” Arthur announces as he arrives and lashes his pack to his horse before vaulting his horse with flourish. Merlin gives him a rueful smile as he thinks Arthur is just showing off, but he mounts up on Arthur’s command. Soon, they leave the city walls and gallop at a fast pace towards the Isle of the Blessed.

They reach the Isle of the Blessed before midnight and all six men board the ever present boat. Merlin uses magic to propel them to the Isle, speeding it faster than before. As soon as the boat reaches the other side, they leap out of the boat and climb the steps, hearing Morgana chanting. They reach the spot where Morgana is standing over Morgause, who is laying on a rudimentary alter.

“Morgana!” Merlin yells at her as Morgana raises a knife high up in the air, “Stop!”

“You!” Morgana hisses at Merlin and the knights, “I will not stop, Arthur must pay. They all must pay.”

“Morgana, please,” Arthur begs his half-sister, “We can help you. Magic is now allowed in Camelot.”

“But for how long? Until someone kills your precious Gwen with magic and you’ll end up just like Uther,” Morgana spits out.

“What? No,” Arthur looks confused at Morgana’s accusations, “Nothing will make me re-ban magic. I even appointed Merlin to court sorcerer.”

“ _Merlin_?” Morgana scoffs, “He doesn’t have any magic.”

“Yes I do,” Merlin takes a step forward and holds out his staff, having the crystal glow for all to see, “The magic of the land will only obey me as I’m tied to it. I am more powerful than you Morgana.”

“I doubt that,” Morgana snorts, “There is only one person more powerful than me and you are not him. Though I’m surprised you can do magic.”

“It was my best kept secret,” Merlin smiles a little bit, “The druids call me Emrys-“

Morgana gasps with her eyes wide at the name and quickly she points the knife in his direction.

“No, you’re lying,” Morgana says in disbelief, “You’re not him.”

“He is,” Mordred steps forward, holding his hands up, “Merlin is Emrys and I have seen what he can do. He is that powerful. Look at his eyes, Morgana. You can see the magic flowing within him.”

Morgana takes a step closer to stare at Merlin’s eyes.

“No, Sister, don’t believe them, they’re just trying to delay the ritual,” Morgause coughs as she tries to regain her sister’s attentions.

“No, it can’t be,” Morgana gasps again, “You’re the one who will kill me, I won’t let you!”

Morgana throws magic at him, trying to knock him and the knights away, but Merlin just raises his hand to block the magic’s path.

“Morgana, I can save you,” Merlin says as her magic hits his shield and bounces away harmlessly, “Please, let me save you. I want you to have a happy life not filled with so much hate. Magic is free, we are free.”

“Please Morgana,” Mordred and Arthur both beg the sorceress.

“Sister,” Morgause calls out weakly, “It is a trap, they only want to use you. They will never accept the true old religion, they will never accept you. You will never be queen.”

“I can change your fate,” Merlin pleads, “It doesn’t have to end in bloodshed. Please, you are my friend and I miss you. Gwen misses you too and so does Arthur. We all love you.”

“Since when does Merlin speak for you?” Morgana swings her gaze to Arthur with a raised eyebrow.

“Since I love him,” Arthur states, the first public declaration of his love for Merlin, which fills Merlin with happiness.

“What about Gwen? She is supposed to be your queen,” Morgana spits out the last word with hate.

“Gwen and I married several months ago,” Lancelot speaks up, “And we are very happy together.”

At Lancelot’s news, Morgana looks hesitant.

“What about an heir?” Morgana asks, though with less conviction of her position against them.

“We haven’t worked that out yet,” Arthur truthfully admits as he blushes slightly.

“Sister…” Morgause sounds very weak, like she is unable to stave off death for much longer, “We must finish…”

“Morgana,” Mordred takes a few steps closer until he’s within reach of her.

“Mordred?” Morgana looks at the young knight with recognition and hope.

“Yes,” Mordred replies with a smile, “It’s the little druid boy you saved and now it’s my turn to save you.”

Mordred reaches out to slowly take the knife from her and she collapses into his arms.

“No!” Morgause rises with fury and with the last of her strength, shoots off a wave of pure magic aimed at Mordred and Morgana. Merlin quickly points his hand and a shield reflects Morgause’s magic right back to her, effectively killing her. Morgana stares at her dead half-sister with shock.

“She was going to kill me,” Morgana says softly before looking at Merlin, “Thank you.”

“Any time,” Merlin replies with a small smile, “Let me save you from your fate.”

Morgana nods her head and with Mordred’s help, walks closer to Merlin. The knights form a semi-circle around Merlin, Morgana, and Mordred, showing their unspoken support. Merlin stands up straight, trying to look the part of a confident all-powerful sorcerer.

: _Emrys_ : Danu’s voice rings in Merlin’s head, : _You must tell the knights to escort the Sorceress back to Camelot while you and Arthur stay here to recover in your house. There is something important we must discuss_.:

“Before I change Morgana’s fate,” Merlin announces suddenly as he looks back at the knights, “Arthur and I will stay at the Isle of the Blessed a little longer while the rest escort Morgana back to Camelot. It’ll take some time for me to recover and I don’t fancy being slung across a horse on the ride back.”

He gets a couple of chuckles from the knights, but they don’t argue with Merlin’s judgment. Arthur, however, looks at Merlin curiously, but doesn’t say anything either.

“I promise not to take over the kingdom,” Morgana swears, making Merlin feel much better about having her back at Camelot without his watchful eye.

Merlin inhales, psychically preparing himself for the task and then exhales. With his staff, he places it inbetween himself and Morgana, the crystal glowing once more as magic swirls around the two. Mordred had taken a step back from Morgana, but is still close enough to catch her if she should fall. Merlin pulls the magic inside of himself, knowing that his eyes are filling up with gold as Mordred had described the process from his view. Once he feels like he’s going to burst with magic he reaches with his free hand to touch the center of Morgana’s chest and pushes the magic into her, creating a link between them. With a link established, he closes his eyes as the magic shows him a thread with Morgana’s life force attached to it. He mentally reaches for that thread, tracing it to the tapestry of life and ‘seeing’ how it is supposed to be woven in. He feels the hate and despair emanating from the thread as he follows the course of Morgana’s fate. He sees visions of Morgana carving out a kingdom of her own, creating a powerful army and marching towards Camelot under a black banner with a red rowan tree as her sigil. Still the hate coursing through her, feeding into the darker parts of herself as she embraces evil. He sees the final battle in Camlann where Merlin sees himself kill her in a fit of rage and then regret.

: _That’s not the life I want_ : Morgana says as she too is witnessing these events, feeling the same thing Merlin is as he follows her thread.

: _That is the life you were going to lead if I don’t change it_ : Merlin responds, : _I want to make it better_ :

Merlin reaches deep within himself, pulling up the hidden power that can defy the God’s will and forces it to merge with Morgana’s thread. It burns Merlin to have this power flow through him, but he ignores the pain as he compels it to unweave the tapestry of fate to pull Morgana’s thread out. For Merlin it’s a slow process as the tapestry doesn’t want to let Morgana’s thread loose, but he stubbornly keeps at it until the thread is free and wiggles lively in his grasp. Now comes the hard part of weaving it back in with a different pattern. Merlin dredges up more self-determination and intertwines her thread into a more favorable fate.

_I want her free from hate_ , Merlin commands the tapestry, _I want her to find love, happiness, and fortune. Let her live a life filled with joy and bliss._

Merlin pushes energy into the command, trying to make it obey him like the dragons obey the call from a dragonlord. He can feel his magic being drained from him, including the magic from the land until he is too numb. The numbness spreads throughout his body and he recedes the link connecting him to Morgana, allowing the fates to use the new pattern and command to weave a new fate for her. They both collapse, Merlin for using everything he had to change Morgana’s fate and Morgana for having her fate changed suddenly.

He feels a pair of strong arms catch him and he tilts his head back to see Arthur lifting him up in his arms. Merlin smiles before looking back at Morgana in the same position with Mordred holding her up.

“Please take her off the Isle,” Merlin barely gets the words out, “She will need to rest, so you should make camp on the other side.”

Mordred nods his head and carries Morgana pass him and Arthur. But stops as Morgana’s hand shoots out to grab Merlin’s.

“Thank you,” Morgana whispers as she looks at Merlin with great respect and kindness, “I owe you my life.”

“Just be happy,” Merlin replies with a weak smile and tries to squeeze her hand, “I’ll see you in a few days.”

Morgana nods her head as he hand falls away. Mordred smiles at Merlin before carrying Morgana to the boat.

“Tell everyone that Morgana was under Morgause’s spell,” Arthur orders the knights, “But Merlin broke the spell and she’s better now. Also, tell them that Merlin and I stayed behind to tie up loose ends, but we’ll be back in a few days.”

Merlin smiles at Arthur’s trust in him, so vastly different from when they were master and servant. The knights all nod their heads and head back to the boat with Mordred and Morgana.

“Take me to the main altar,” Merlin softly instructs Arthur, who looks at Morgause’s dead body and then at the way they came into this area.

“I really hope you know what you are doing,” Arthur grumbles, but obeys Merlin and starts walking to the other part of the island, “You need to rest and should be in a comfortable bed back in Camelot rather than roughing it on this island.”

“I do,” Merlin grins at him, trying to stay awake as they arrive at the white alter, “Past the altar is an archway that doesn’t lead to anything, take me there.”

Arthur looks dubious, but continues walking until they get to the archway. With a shaky hand Merlin reaches out to touch the stone and murmurs, _cartref_ , the spell to open the portal. Arthur jolts slightly as suddenly rather than seeing the sea, he sees a forest with a cottage.

“Walk through,” Merlin says with another smile, “There’s a comfortable bed that I want to lie in on the other side.”

“You never cease to amaze me,” Arthur replies softly before striding through the portal. Once they go through, the portal closes, leaving them in Merlin’s woods. Arthur continues walking to the cottage and the door opens itself for them. Merlin can feel Arthur pretending the magic doesn’t faze him as he walks into the cottage and intakes a breath at the sight of the cozy interior. Merlin points to the direction of his bedroom and Arthur takes the unspoken command to carry him there.

“I take it, this is where you were staying at during those months you were missing,” Arthur comments as he walks into the bedroom. Merlin smiles as he sees his magnificent bed. He had told Arthur the story of what happened when he ran away from Arthur.

“Yes,” Merlin answers, “It’s mine, ours.”

Arthur gently places him on the bed, the covers were already pulled back, so Arthur just pulls them back over Merlin.

“Ours, eh?” Arthur grins at Merlin.

“What is mine, is yours,” Merlin replies, trying to smile back. Arthur takes off Merlin’s boots and proceeds to strip him, remembering Merlin’s preference on sleeping naked which delights Arthur.

The last thing he remembers is Arthur pulling Merlin’s tunic off before Merlin passes out from sheer exhaustion.


	8. Chapter 8

**Arthur**

Arthur wakes up in an unfamiliar bed, spooning Merlin as they both lay there naked. He opens his eyes to see Merlin’s familiar mop of black hair and he turns slightly to look around the room. He then remembers that they’re in Merlin’s cottage, well their cottage and Arthur smiles. He was surprised when Merlin opened up a portal to this place, but being here seems to feel right like they belong here. He disentangles himself from Merlin and sits up, feeling refreshed. He looks down at Merlin, sleeping peacefully and wishes he could wake up every day like this.

He bends down to kiss Merlin’s head before slipping out of bed. He hunts down his breeches and puts them on before leaving the bedroom to explore the rest of the house. He’s startled at a woman sitting at the table in the main room of the cottage, not expecting anyone else to be here.

“Hello young Pendragon,” the woman greets him with a beautiful smile as she sits there looking very regal, “I am Danu. Please sit.”

“You’re the Goddess that Merlin calls Godmother,” Arthur ventures a guess from Merlin’s descriptions of her as he bows to her formally and then blushes as he realizes he’s half naked in front of the Goddess.

“Yes,” Danu smiles at him, “And don’t worry about impropriety, you look just fine as is.”

Arthur nods his head and sits down opposite of her.

“I had Emrys bring you here because I would like to speak with you,” Danu says, “I want to know what your intentions with Emrys are?”

“I love him,” Arthur declares to her, knowing it’s important to be honest with her, “and I want to spend the rest of my life with him.”

“What about marriage?” Danu asks.

“I want to,” Arthur answers but hesitates, “but since I am king, I have to have a legitimate heir.”

“You do realize that you are not the last Pendragon,” Danu points out and Arthur recalls that Morgana is his half-sister, “While it is not feasible for her to ascend the throne, but any child of hers will carry Pendragon blood.”

Arthur is taken aback as he didn’t consider that before, suddenly he is flooded with happiness as he will be able to marry for love.

“I can see the idea appeals to you,” Danu smiles at him, “However, there is one other matter that will affect your decision to tie your life with Emrys’.”

“What’s that?” Arthur asks, wondering what could go wrong with marrying Merlin.

“Emrys’ name means ‘immortal’ and he is that,” Danu explains, “He has a much bigger destiny than you could imagine as there are things he must do that will take him thousands of years to accomplish, especially for your return as king of Albion.”

“Thousands of years?” Arthur’s mind boggles at someone living for that long.

“Yes,” Danu nods her head, “He is a child of the Old Religion and has been given a lifespan to reflect that status. Are you willing to stay by his side for that long?”

Arthur doesn’t answer right away as he thinks about it. He knows he is willing to die for Merlin, but can he live for thousands of years for him? Watching his friends and family grow old and die while Arthur lives on? If Merlin has to, then how could Arthur be any less? Arthur loves Merlin and wants him at his side until the day they die.

“Yes,” Arthur finally answers, “I love him that much.”

“Good,” Danu beams a smile at him, “I was hoping you would say that. I would suggest you wait until Morgana has chosen a suitor before proposing to Emrys. There will be a special wedding ceremony for you two to bind you closer and allowing you to live as long as Emrys. When you are ready, you and a few selected people will come to the Isle of the Blessed for the ceremony and make sure to bring the cup of life.”

“We will,” Arthur grins as he is filled with happiness, “Thank you so much Danu.”

“I want to make sure Emrys is happy and you bring him the greatest joy,” Danu smiles at him before cocking her head to the side as she listens at something, “Emrys is awake. I’ll leave you two to enjoy breakfast before talking to the both of you as there is something important you both must know.”

Arthur nods his head and gets up to head back into the bedroom, still elated over the fact that he can marry Merlin. He smiles even more as he sees Merlin sitting up on the bed with the blanket pooling in his lap, leaving his chest bare and the tattoo shimmering slightly in the sunlight.

“Good morning,” Arthur greets him as he goes over and sits on the bed. He leans in to give Merlin a morning kiss that started off innocently enough but Arthur’s excitement turns the kiss into something far more passionate as Arthur reaches to cup the back of Merlin’s head and holds him close.

“I like this way of greeting in the morning,” Merlin pants slightly as they break apart for air before leaning forward to kiss Arthur again. Arthur climbs on top of Merlin and pushes him back into the bed as he rubs his growing erection against Merlin’s morning wood. They both moan at the contact and things heat up even more between them. Arthur grinds his erection against Merlin’s as he teases Merlin’s nipple with a finger. Merlin reaches to grab Arthur’s arse, squeezing it with pleasure.

“How are you feeling?” Arthur finally asks as he breaks from Merlin’s lips to attach his to Merlin’s neck.

“Ngg, good. Much better,” Merlin moans as Arthur finds the spot on Merlin’s neck and sucks on it.

“Good,” Arthur pulls back to grin at the mark he left on Merlin’s neck. He loves marking his lover, soon to be fiancé, as his. Arthur moves off of Merlin to shuck his breeches off before yanking the blankets off of Merlin and climbs back on top of him with nothing in their way now.

He passionately kisses Merlin once more as he reaches down to palm Merlin’s erection, making him moan into Arthur’s mouth. They’ve learned that if Merlin comes without Arthur being inside of him, the magical display of passion is less than if Arthur was only inside him. Arthur wraps his fingers around Merlin’s cock and slides his hand at a lazy pace, enjoying Merlin’s expressive face twist with pleasure before he cracks open his eyes with a pleading look to go faster. Arthur grins, knowing he’s teasing Merlin and is silently almost daring Merlin to do something about it. Merlin gives him a mischievous smile and before Arthur could comprehend what happened, he’s suddenly on his back with Merlin straddling him, Merlin’s eyes are glowing with gold.

“I think it’s my turn to be on top,” Merlin says before he starts kissing down Arthur’s chest and torso. With each kiss, Merlin leaves a trail of magic that sparks the pleasure nerves on Arthur’s skin. Arthur moans and his hips jerk forward as Merlin gets close to the spot where he wants him the most.

“ _Mer_ lin,” Arthur groans as he reaches down to grab his hair, pulling him in the direction where he wants him. Merlin moans as Arthur pulls his hair, but Arthur can feel him grinning against his inner thigh.

“I want to be inside you,” Merlin says softly, they both know that he had done it only once before, thankfully it was outside as when they awoke the next morning since flowers had bloomed everywhere including out of the tree bark.

“You sure it’s going to be safe?” Arthur teases as he runs his fingers through Merlin’s soft hair.

“Prat,” Merlin chuckles before he licks the length of Arthur’s cock, causing Arthur to gasp with pleasure. With a silent permission, Arthur widens his legs to accommodate Merlin’s questing fingers past his heavy balls. Arthur isn’t sure how, though most likely with magic, Merlin’s finger is already coated with oil as he teases Arthur’s hole by fingering him. Arthur moans, still trying to keep his head up to watch Merlin reach with his other hand to pump Arthur’s shaft with the same pace of his finger.

“Merlin,” Arthur whispers as he swallows, “Now you’re teasing me.”

“I’ll be the better man,” Merlin replies, a little haughty as he teases Arthur. Merlin sinks his finger into Arthur, drawing out a long moan from Arthur. He reaches again for Merlin’s hair, pulling on it slightly as he knows the sorcerer enjoys the bit of pain. After a few thrusts with Merlin’s finger, he slowly introduces another, stretching Arthur. It’s maddening for Arthur as he wants Merlin inside him, never thinking that he’d enjoy this so much. Merlin hits that spot in Arthur that makes his nerves tingle with pleasure as he moans. Arthur can feel Merlin’s fingers stretching his passage and with a third finger, Arthur almost feels as full as when Merlin’s cock is inside him.

Merlin lifts Arthur’s cock and engulfs him, causing Arthur to grip the sheets tightly as he tries not to thrust into that wet hot cavern.

“Oh Merlin,” Arthur moans, trying not to come as he so desperately wants to. Merlin bobs his head in time with his fingers pumping in and out of Arthur, forcing Arthur to close his eyes from the sheer pleasure. After what seemed like blissful yet agonizing moments, Merlin completely pulls away and Arthur groans at the loss of Merlin’s mouth and fingers. But just as Arthur opens his eyes, he feels Merlin’s slicked up cock slowly breeching his waiting hole. His eyes flicker up to see Merlin’s mouth open with pleasure as he continues to push into Arthur.

“Oh Gods, you’re so tight,” Merlin moans, “It’s amazing.”

Arthur reaches up to brush his fingers against Merlin’s jaw, loving how open his lover looks. Merlin smiles and sucks on Arthur’s fingers as he is finally seated inside him. Arthur moans as he feels Merlin swirl his tongue around his fingers as well as from the fullness he feels from Merlin being inside him. Merlin grabs Arthur’s hips with both hands and uses it as leverage to pull himself mostly out of Arthur before pumping back in. Arthur removes his fingers from Merlin’s sensual mouth as he grips the sheets again as Merlin picks up a rhythm to thrust into him, causing both to moan loudly.

He tries to keep his eyes open to watch Merlin’s face, but the pleasure is too much as he briefly closes them to just feel Merlin sliding in and out.

“M-Mine,” Merlin moans and Arthur snaps open his eyes to see that possessive look that gets Arthur harder. He can see the fierce need to possess Arthur’s body in Merlin’s fae-like eyes that makes him arch his back with a great moan. Merlin starts to thrust faster and harder, making Arthur moan as he meets Merlin’s thrust with his own hips. Arthur knows Merlin is getting close as he reaches to stroke Arthur’s leaking cock with each thrust. Arthur moans and he can feel his own orgasm coming as his balls tighten.

“Merlin,” Arthur moans his name before tipping over the edge, coming hard. Arthur hears Merlin moaning his name as he comes inside of Arthur at the same time. They both lay there, panting from the force of their orgasms and Arthur remembers about Merlin’s magical problem.

He cautiously opens his eyes and looks around the flower-free room with puzzlement. He looks back up at Merlin, who looks surprised as well until he looks at the window. Arthur follows his gaze and sees a small tree outside that wasn’t there before.

“I’ve always fancied a curtain there,” Merlin jokes with a chuckle.

“Only you, Merlin,” Arthur teases him as he leans up for a slow kiss. They spend a few more minutes kissing as Merlin pulls out of Arthur and then flops right next to Arthur.

“Mm, I think that used up what energy I recouped,” Merlin says with a smile.

“We should get dressed and eat breakfast,” Arthur replies, but doesn’t move himself, “Danu said she wanted to talk to us after we ate.”

“Danu?” Merlin sits up to look at Arthur, “Did you two talk?”

“A little bit,” Arthur replies with a shrug, not wanting Merlin to get a hint of marriage until Arthur proposes as he wants it to be a surprise.

After a few more minutes of lying there, they both finally get the energy to get up and get dressed before coming out to the main room. There they see two plates of food waiting for them, but Danu isn’t in sight.

“Well she did say she wanted to talk to us after breakfast,” Arthur comments as they sit down at the table. Arthur is amazed at the food and wonders if this is what Merlin has been eating here that made him fill out a little more.

“After we talk to her, I think you should run a few laps around the woods,” Merlin grins as he takes a jab at Arthur’s weight.

“I am not fat,” Arthur protests and just to spite him, he grabs a sausage and takes a bite out of it.

“Yes, Sire,” Merlin retorts in than uncanny tone that Arthur knows he’s being sarcastic but still sounds polite. Only Merlin can pull that off.

Once they finish breakfast, Danu walks in smiling. She clears the dishes away with a wave of her hand, which startles Arthur slightly, but he guesses a Goddess doesn’t have to worry about dirty dishes.

“I know that it is the beginning of your Golden Age, Pendragon,” Danu segues from the pleasantries of making sure Merlin is well-rested as she helped to speed up the process, “And partly is because magic is thriving once more. However, this will only last until the end of your reign.”

“What?” Merlin looks horrid as he stares at Danu and Arthur seconds the sediment as he wishes to see Camelot continue to prosper after he is gone. Danu holds up a hand from further protests as she goes on.

“It was never meant to last,” Danu explains, “The Great Purge extensively hurt the magic, forcing it to prepare for hibernation until such a time that magic can once freely thrive. It does not mean that magic will disappear completely, but it will become harder for magic users to wield the same power as once before.”

“But what about all the new laws and lifting the ban on magic?” Merlin asks, worriedly.

“It is a reprieve,” Danu inclines her head slightly, “But it is not enough to stave off the hibernation. The world is changing as you will soon discover, Emrys. However, what you have done is given a positive memory for magic to dream of during the hibernation, allowing it to be willing to be used during its slumber.”

“So it isn’t a lost cause then?” Merlin seems so hopeful and Arthur knows it’s because for Merlin, magic is like air.

“No,” Danu gives him a small smile, “But it’ll be your responsibility to ease the transition during Arthur’s reign as once Arthur is no longer king, magic will go into hibernation.”

“How long will my reign be?” Arthur asks, hating to discuss his inevitable death, though with what they spoke of earlier this morning, there might be a chance he will continue to live for thousands of years alongside with Merlin.

“For at least twenty-one years,” Danu gives him a look that conveys he should know the meaning behind her words.

_Twenty-one years_ , Arthur thinks why that number would be significant and then it hits him. Twenty-one is the age when the heir becomes crown prince, signifying that he is ready to rule. Which means that as soon as Morgana gives birth, the countdown of Arthur’s reign begins. He nods his head at Danu, indicating he knows the significance of her words.

“Over twenty years is good,” Merlin smiles in relief, probably grateful that it isn’t within a few years and missing the silent exchange between Danu and Arthur.

“Wait,” Merlin’s eyes widen slightly as his smile disappears, “That means that Arthur is going to die in twenty years.”

“Don’t dwell so much on that,” Danu cautions him, “There are events that can change circumstances but haven’t happened just yet.”

“Like someone killing Arthur in the next few months,” Merlin suggests and Arthur looks at him strangely for thinking so morbidly.

“Yes,” Danu concedes, though looks doubtful, “or he could live longer than twenty years.”

“So we’re back to where we’ve started,” Merlin sighs as he throws his hands up in the air dramatically, “I’m forever going to have to save Arthur.”

“Hey,” Arthur playfully pushes Merlin at the shoulder, “I think it’s the other way around, I’ll be forever saving you.”

“What, no way,” Merlin argues with a hidden smile, “I’ve saved you more times than you’ve saved me.”

“I doubt that,” Arthur argues back, “Every step you’d take, I’d have to save you from falling.”

“Not anymore,” Merlin retorts with a slight pout, knowing that Arthur has saved him at least several times from his own clumsiness over the years they’ve been together.

“So you didn’t trip just last week and I had to catch you from falling down the stairs,” Arthur points out with a grin, wanting to win the argument.

“That was a fluke,” Merlin protests with a wave of his hand, “Besides, I’ve had to save you every time you step outside of Camelot and it requires a lot more effort than yanking on someone’s tunic.”

Danu laughs a little bit, but holds up a hand, halting them from bickering.

“Regardless of how long Arthur’s reign will last,” Danu looks at them both, seriously,” You must return here and can’t go back to the mortal realm for a hundred years.”

“A hundred years?!” Merlin gasps.

“Yes,” Danu nods solemnly, “It is so that events can unfold without your interference. It is important that your friends and family live out their lives, giving way to the next generations and to allow certain outcomes to happen. However, you won’t be sitting idle. There are things you can do here and other realms to explore, so you won’t be bored.”

Arthur nods his head, knowing that if given the chance, both of them would want to go back just to see their friends and check up on how the kingdom is going, but the temptation to help or fix things would be too great.

“It still seems like a very long time,” Merlin complains with a pout.

“Don’t make me say a hundred and fifty,” Danu threatens, though is smiling, “I’m sure the time will go by fast.”

“Yes, Godmother,” Merlin replies with a sigh.

“Alright, I’ll leave you two on your own,” Danu smiles at them, “Enjoy the stay as you’ll be returning to Camelot tomorrow.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, short chapter

**Arthur**

 

Three months had passed from that day leading into the middle of winter when Morgana gave Arthur good news. With her back, it was a rocky few weeks to get the people to trust her again, slowly with Arthur and Merlin’s support as well as Morgana working hard to change her image the people accepted her back in. Throughout the whole ordeal, Mordred also stayed by Morgana’s side as he gives her encouraging words or a shoulder to lean on during the roughest of times. Arthur could see the love forming between them, but until she announces her wish to marry, Arthur would have to wait. He didn’t wait idly though, he secretly commissioned a pair of royal wedding rings and an engagement ring for him and Merlin. Getting Merlin’s ring size was the hardest part and he finally had to confide in Gaius about what Danu told him and his plans. Gaius was flabbergasted over the information, but proved to be just as wily as ever in getting Merlin’s ring size without letting Merlin suspecting the reasoning behind it. Gaius also proved to be a continued resource of advice as he gave suggestions on what Arthur should do to prepare for Camelot’s future.

It was just a few days before the winter solstice when Morgana and Mordred approach Arthur in the throne room. The meeting had ended, so people were filing out as the two walk in. He watches them bow and curtsy to him and he tries to hid his grin, knowing this would be good news.

“Sire,” Mordred says softly, “We would like an audience with you.”

“Of course, Sir Mordred, Lady Morgana,” Arthur nods his head as the people stopped and wandered back in to see what’s going on. Arthur knows Merlin is off to the side, watching them with ease.

“Arthur,” Morgana starts the conversation, “I know my previous behavior should have meant that I don’t deserve happiness, but ever since Merlin has given me a second chance at life by changing my fate, I have strived to make amends for the wrongs that I have done. During that time, Mordred has been a constant support for me as we share a special connection and because of that connection, we fell in love.”

During Morgana’s speech, her and Mordred reach for each other and hold hands to show unity in front of Arthur. He also sees the glances of love and adoration they throw at each other, making it hard for Arthur to keep a straight face as he knows better than to disturb Morgana when she speaks. He also knows that she’s slightly overdoing it for the real audience, but the love shown is true.

“With your permission,” Mordred continues Morgana’s speech, “We would like your blessing for our marriage.”

Arthur waits a few seconds before responding, just because Morgana deserves the dramatic flair.

“As you know Morgana is my half-sister, bearing the Pendragon name and blood. Whoever’s child she bears can potentially inherit the throne if I do not have any children. With that said, any alliance brought through her marriage could be very valuable,” Arthur tampers down his grin as he tries to act like a king in this matter while watching both of them wondering if Arthur is going to deny them. He worked hard on this speech as he knew it was just a matter of time before they came to him, “However, what kind of king, nay, brother, would I be to deny her to marry for love. I grant my permission and blessing for a fortuitous marriage.”

With that, Mordred swings down onto one knee in front of Morgana with a ring held out in front of him.

“Morgana Pendragon,” Mordred beams a smile up at his love, “Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

“Yes,” Morgana gasps with a huge happy grin, “Always.”

Mordred slips the ring onto her finger as the audience claps and cheers for them. He stands up and kisses her merrily.

Later that evening, Morgana is in Arthur’s room for a private chat.

“So, when are you going to propose to Merlin?” Morgana raises an eyebrow at him, catching him off guard as she usually does. Though, he should know that she’s smart enough to add things together to know what he was really doing with his speech.

“Soon,” Arthur hedges, not quite sure when exactly as he wants to plan it just right.

“Oh Arthur,” Morgana chuckles at him as she probably misinterpreted his hesitation, “I know what you’re doing and I heartily approve.”

“You do?” Arthur looks surprised, wondering what she has figured out.

“Any fool can see it,” Morgana replies with a grin, “Though maybe not, as your fool is still in the dark about it. You plan on waiting until I’m pregnant so you can declare my child as heir and you get to marry your precious Merlin. Lucky for you, I’m completely in love with Mordred and we both want to start having kids right away. So, I’m thinking of a spring wedding, the first day of spring to be exact.”

She gives Arthur a look that clearly says ‘you better make it a good wedding’ in which Arthur grins.

“Of course, dear sister,” Arthur replies both to the spoken and unspoken demands, “You’ll have a lavish wedding to celebrate your union and yes, I plan on naming your child heir as I doubt Merlin can get pregnant.”

“You never know,” Morgana teases, “He is the greatest sorcerer to ever walk the Earth, I’m sure even he could bend the laws of nature to bear a child.”

“Oh Gods, I hope not,” Arthur stares at her in horror, “Imagining you being pregnant is going to be tough on us all, but Merlin? The mood swings alone will kill us all especially since his magic is so responsive to his whims. It goes wild when he… ah.”

Arthur blushes as he realizes that he was going to tell Morgana about their sex life.

“When you have sex?” Morgana finishes for him with a knowing grin, “I did put two and two together when there was a ‘sudden’ windstorm in the throne room while you two were quite alone in there.”

“Just don’t let Merlin know you know,” Arthur blushes even more as he remembers that day. Merlin was feeling very frisky and goaded Arthur to have sex on the throne, which he initially thought was sacrilegious at first, but the thrill he got for having sex in public was exhilarating. It was one of Merlin’s most daring sexual undertaking that if he knew that people found out about it, he’d be mortified.

“And deprive me of seeing how red Merlin can go?” Morgana giggles, “Fine, at least tell me how you two finally got together.”

Arthur sighs, but tells her from the beginning of how they came about.


	10. Chapter 10

**Merlin**

Merlin groans as he forces himself to sit up in his bed at this ungodly hour. Arthur had heard reports of someone using magic inappropriately and wants to go investigate on the winter solstice of all days. It was the shortest day of the year, which means that it is still pitch black outside when they have to ride outside of the walls of Camelot. It is atypical to have Edwin to help him get out of bed and dressed as he knew if left to his own, he’d come stumbling down to the stables wearing not a stitch of clothing.

“Come on Merlin,” Edwin entices him to get out of bed, knowing better than to just yank the blankets off, “You don’t want to keep the king waiting.”

It was a rare night that Merlin is in his own bed, usually he spends most nights in Arthur’s bed, but last night Arthur said that they needed actual rest for the day’s events. Once Merlin found out what time they were riding out, he agreed, though made sure Arthur makes up for it tonight.

Edwin is holding out Merlin’s breeches, waving it in front of him to get Merlin to grab them.

“I appreciate what you’re doing this morning,” Merlin grumbles, grateful to have Edwin, but is grumpy at being awake, “You have the rest of the day off to enjoy the solstice.”

“I’ll enjoy it better when I know you’re dressed,” Edwin replies, not taking the bait of being dismissed before finishing his duties, “Now hurry up or the king will leave without you.”

“He better not,” Merlin growls as he finally grabs the offered breeches and swings his legs out to the side of the bed to put them on. He doesn’t want Arthur to face a sorcerer without any magical protections. Edwin turns to give Merlin some privacy, but he did see the triumphant smile on the servant’s face.

Merlin manages to get completely dressed with Edwin’s help and even succeeds in eating a bit of breakfast before it was time to meet Arthur and a few knights at the stables. More awake, Merlin strides down to the stables where he sees Arthur already chipper and eager to go along with Gwaine, Lancelot, and Percival. Though Gwaine looks like he wishes he was back in his warm bed too. Merlin mounts up his horse and pulls his cloak tighter around him to ward off the cold as their breaths can be seen in the air. Silently, they take off riding into the city, it had snowed last night as Merlin can see the thin layer of snow in the streets.

A few hours later, they’re deep in the forest that surrounds Camelot and Merlin feels as though they’ve traveled this way before. Though given how many times they’ve traversed the forest, every spot seems familiar by now. Finally they come to a halt and Arthur dismounts first to assess the area. Merlin extends his magical senses to see if he can feel any other magic user around, but he doesn’t pick up on anything.

“Arthur,” Merlin calls out softly, not wanting to disturb the peace or alert anyone, if there is anyone within a few kilometers.

“Come here, Merlin,” Arthur beckons him to a spot in the small clearing and Merlin dismounts. The knights dismount as well, actively looking around the area. Merlin sighs as he goes to where Arthur is standing.

“I don’t see anything,” Merlin looks around but still doesn’t see why Arthur stopped at this particular spot. It does seem to be far more familiar, like a memory tugging on his brain.

“Wait,” Arthur looks to the ground and then kneels on one knee, presumably seeing something in the snow. Merlin was just about to bend down to look at whatever Arthur was seeing when Arthur shoots out a hand to grab Merlin’s, pressing something in his hand.

“Arthur?” Merlin looks at his lover, confused as Arthur doesn’t let go of his hand and instead clasps his other hand to sandwich Merlin’s as he looks up at Merlin with a hesitant smile.

“Merlin,” Arthur starts as he takes in a nervous deep breath, “Those few months when I drove you away from this very spot was the worst time of my life. I was miserable without you and I didn’t know why until Gwen pointed it out to me. I was so blind to my own feelings that I didn’t understand why I felt so racked with guilt without you by my side. You are my other half, my soulmate, and I can’t imagine living without you there with me. And so it is fitting that we come back here again so I can replace the ugly memories of my foolish actions with happier memories if you allow me. I love you and would be the happiest man for all of eternity if you will marry me.”

Merlin’s eyes go wide as he finds it hard to breathe past the emotional lump in his throat as Arthur proposes to him. The outpour of love shining in Arthur’s pleading eyes makes Merlin’s knees weak and when Arthur removes his hands, leaving the object in Merlin’s own hand, he looks down. In the palm of his hand is a beautiful ring with a lion and a dragon entwined around a ruby heart with a crown on top. To Merlin it is the perfect symbol for them.

“I…” Merlin’s eyes are blurry with unshed tears of joy as he picks up the ring and shakily slips it onto his finger. Surprisingly it’s a perfect fit, “Yes! Of course, the answer is yes, you clotpole.”

With Merlin’s declaration, Arthur surges up and embraces him in a passionate kiss as the knights all cheer for them. After a few more minutes of increasing passion, Merlin barely hears one of the knights coughs to gain their attention, but ignores it to continue his tactile exploration of Arthur’s mouth with his tongue.

“I hate to interrupt as this looks like it’s going to get good, but I think it’s best if we head back to a warmer place to continue this celebration,” Gwaine finally speaks up to interrupt them. Merlin pulls away, blushing as he already had his hands slipped under Arthur’s tunic While Arthur’s hands were on Merlin’s arse, pushing their erections together with pleasurable friction.

“I-I’m sorry,” Merlin pulls away from Arthur’s mouth and rests his head on his fiancée’s shoulder before summoning the courage to face the knights. Both their hands are back in appropriate view, though their erections are still a bit stiff.

“Don’t be,” Gwaine winks at him, “I just thought I’d save the princess’ dignity of having his bare arse on the freezing ground.”

“Are you insinuating that I’d be on bottom?” Arthur arches an eyebrow at the leering knight.

“Insinuating? No. Stating it? Yes,” Gwaine gives them a cheeky grin.

“Regardless of Gwaine’s shameless morality,” Lancelot takes a step forward with a wide smile, “Congratulations on your engagement. I can’t think of two people who deserve it more.”

“Thank you Lancelot,” Arthur replies, shooting Gwaine a look before smiling back at Lancelot.

“Congratulations,” Percival joins in with a huge grin, “It is about time you made each other an honest man and the people will be ecstatic to know you finally proposed.”

“Wait, did everyone know about us?” Merlin asks as he thought they were being discreet.

“There were bets going around on who would propose and when,” Gwaine grins, “Lucky for me, I won both.”

“Wait, that means that someone bet that Merlin would be the one proposing,” Arthur points out, but doesn’t sound too upset.

“Princess, some people saw how forceful Merlin can get, especially when defending your honor,” Gwaine gives him a leveled look and Merlin blushes again. He never would have thought to propose to Arthur, never thinking they’d actually get a chance at marriage.

“You’ve been planning this since we got Morgana back,” Merlin suddenly looks at Arthur, realizing that Arthur wouldn’t have done this if there wasn’t a chance for an heir that isn’t directly from Arthur.

“Yes,” Arthur blushes slightly as he doesn’t quite look at Merlin, “I knew that once Morgana found the right person to settle down with, she would be willing to have her child become the heir to the throne.”

“But what about…” Merlin hesitates as he doesn’t want to bring up his unusually long lifespan, fearing that he just might have to watch Arthur grow old and die while he will live on for thousands of years.

“We’ll discuss it later,” Arthur replies with confidence as he steers Merlin to the horses, “Let’s head back to Camelot to rejoice.”

~@~

2 months later

Merlin woke up to an empty bed, but he pays it no heed as he tries to remember the dream he had last night. Cernunnos was telling him something, but for the life of Merlin he can’t seem to recall the words. Something about a child and forever knowing his kin by touching them. Merlin grumbles at the feeling that it was important but it still eluded his memory.

He sits up and peers out the open window to see that it was past the time that they usually get up. Arthur must’ve let him sleep in as he’s obviously gone from the chambers, but Merlin wishes he didn’t. He quickly leaps out of the shared bed, knowing there’s lots of last minute things to do for Morgana and Mordred’s wedding and Merlin still had a few tasks left that could only be done on the day of the event. He rushes on getting dressed, thankful that Arthur left him some breakfast on the table as he scarfs it down.

Once out the door, he heads for the throne room where he knows Arthur will be at this hour. He is in luck as Arthur just finished his business with the nobles, looking royally upset. Merlin dodges the disgruntled nobles, making his way to his fiancé.

“What got your knickers in a twist?” Merlin asks, using Gwaine’s phrase. Arthur just gives him a dour look.

“They’re still going on about how I need an heir and they’re not sure that Morgana will get with child,” Arthur answers with a growl, “They want me to absolve our engagement and marry someone who can give me an heir as well as an alliance with one of the other kingdoms. I just can’t believe they would continue this on Morgana’s wedding day!”

“She will have a child and nothing is going to stop us from getting married,” Merlin assures Arthur and reaches to kiss him as a way to sooth his anger despite his own rising anger at those who want to get in the way of their happiness. He wraps his arms around Arthur as he presses his lips against his, enticing him to kiss back. Arthur, unable to deny Merlin, kisses back and opens his mouth slightly to let Merlin slip his tongue in.

Merlin moans as they deepen the kiss and his magic envelops around them as it likes to do whenever Merlin’s ardor rises within him. Arthur reaches to slide his hands in Merlin’s hair as he increases the passionate kiss, not caring if someone walks in on them. Merlin pulls slightly from Arthur’s lips to nuzzle his neck, seeking that spot that makes Arthur goes crazy as Merlin’s prick fills up. Arthur’s moan goes straight to Merlin’s cock, hardening it and he rubs it against Arthur’s increasing erection. His magic pulses around them, amplifying Merlin’s pleasure as he sucks on that sweet spot on Arthur’s neck.

“Merlin,” Arthur moans as his hand tightens in Merlin’s hair before he releases him and starts to pull back, “Merlin, we can’t.”

Merlin whimpers in the back of his throat as Arthur tries to stop them, but Merlin really doesn’t want to stop. He keeps chasing Arthur’s lips, but his fiancé is adamant.

“Merlin,” Arthur tries again, using his strength to make sure Merlin stays out of kissing range “We still need to get ready for Morgana’s wedding, which is today in case you’ve forgotten.”

“Fine,” Merlin pouts as he looks at Arthur, hoping they could just have a quick session, “But the moment we have a free time…”

“Yes, yes,” Arthur nods his head and swoops in for one last kiss before stepping back from Merlin, “Unless you want to deal with Morgana’s wrath on why her wedding didn’t go as planned…”

Merlin takes in a deep breath to calm himself down, but his body doesn’t quite obey. He manages to tamper down his lust enough to function.

“I better go,” Merlin finally says, knowing that he’ll be alright, “I have to oversee the area that she wants to have the ceremony.”

His job is to make sure the clearing that Morgana decided upon is filled with flowers and plants to make the scene romantic for the ceremony as well as officiating it. He couldn’t believe that Morgana and Mordred came up to him to be the high priest to unite them in the Old Religion. He was astonished, but agreed with great honor to sanctify their wedding vows.

“Go do that,” Arthur smiles at him, “I’m going to check on the knights to make sure none of them started celebrating early.”

They both chuckle knowing that Gwaine would be the prime person to do so and quite possibly drag Mordred into the illicit pre-wedding drinking. With a sigh, they exit the throne room and part ways to finish with the pre-wedding details.

As the day progresses, Merlin’s horniness still persists, even more so when he catches a glimpse of Arthur. He can’t explain it as usually when he’s busy he’s not horny, but today and after having a dream with Cernunnos in it, he suspects something is up. However, any time he tries to pull Gaius aside to discuss it, someone either always interrupts them or just won’t leave them alone. Frustrated, Merlin tried to deal with it himself, by going behind a tree and jerking himself off, but that didn’t abate the lustful desires. It was an annoyance that makes him a little terse as he tries to put it off his mind and be polite to people.

Soon enough the clearing is perfect with vines and flowers growing in the right spots, the kitchen staff ordains the wedding feast is ready, and Merlin’s ceremonial robes are brought to him to don on. People start to gather and Mordred is already up at the altar. Merlin quickly puts on the voluminous white robes, thankful for the many folds and heavy material as it nicely hides his constant erection. He stands at the altar, feeling as nervous as Mordred should be.

“Ready for this?” Merlin asks Mordred, trying to dissipate his own nervousness at officiating the ceremony.

“As I’ll ever be,” Mordred replies with a nervous smile, “I’m more antsy now that I was getting my knighthood.”

The music starts up, signifying that the bride is going to show up and people stand on the sides of the aisle. Soon enough, Morgana arrives with Arthur escorting her down the aisle. Morgana looks radiant in a snow white low-cut dress, showing off her red and gold necklace as a representation of her allegiance to Camelot. On top of her head is a crown of flowers that her and Gwen had woven together. Merlin’s cock jumps at the sight of Arthur looking stunning in his royal ceremonial armor and he silently pleads with the Gods that he doesn’t embarrass himself during Morgana’s ceremony.

Merlin sneaks a peek at Mordred as the brother and sister walk up the aisle and Mordred looks pole-axed as his eyes are only for Morgana.

“You look radiant,” Mordred says reverently as Arthur relinquishes Morgana’s arm to have her stand next to the groom as Arthur stands off to the side. Merlin glances at Arthur and swallows hard as he’s so close to him, but can’t reach out for him. Arthur gives him an encouraging smile before motioning his hand for Merlin to start.

“Today we are gathered here to witness the sacred union between two loving people,” Merlin says, almost forgetting his part in the ceremony, “In the presence of the triple Goddess and in the presence of the horned God, may they too witness the vows and give their blessing.”

Merlin uses his magic to light the two white candles to represent the Goddess and God and calling upon them to witness the ceremony. He then picks up the braided cord of red, gold, and white, the colors being a compromise to continue to show their loyalty to Camelot. Both Morgana and Mordred turn to face each other as Merlin places the cord around their clasps hands.

“This cord represents the binding of your souls as you speak your vows to each other,” Merlin says as his hands slightly shake while he ties a loose knot in them. Morgana smiles at him, trying to silently convey he is doing well so far.

“Morgana,” Mordred starts his vow as he looks at her with love, “You are the love of my life and without you, I would not be standing here. I am blessed to have your love and I vow to love and honor you as the queen of my heart. I pledge my heart and soul to you and promise to uphold your honor and respect. I will love you for the rest of my life and into the next.”

“Mordred,” Morgana smiles lovingly at him, “You have helped me in my time of need and I know you will continue to do so as I will for you. We have a special connection already and it was your kindness that further drew me to you. I pledge to always love and respect you with my heart and soul. We will forever be united in love and devotion.”

Merlin knows he has a sappy smile as he listens to their vows to each other and his eyes drift towards Arthur, meeting his eyes as well. Both of them know that it’ll be soon enough that they make these kinds of pledges to each other. Arthur did tell him of his conversation with Danu and now he can’t wait to be bound to Arthur for eternity. Merlin almost misses the ending of Morgana’s speech and he quickly looks back at the couple.

“I release the cord to symbolize that you freely and under your own free will remain bound together,” Merlin intones as he reaches to untie the cord. Once the cord is free, he sets it on the altar before bringing a set of wedding rings for the couple, “These rings will symbolize your vows and commitment to each other, reminding you of what ties you together.”

He hands each the other’s ring as they take turns slipping the ring on with Mordred sliding Morgana’s ring on her finger and then Morgana sliding Mordred’s ring on his finger.

“With the power invested in me and with the blessing of the Gods, I pronounce you husband and wife,” Merlin announces loudly and the people cheer. Morgana and Mordred kiss each other before walking down the aisle to be congratulated by everyone.

“Well done,” Arthur murmurs to Merlin before he kisses him. His ever present erection flares up with the kiss, forcing a moan out of Merlin as he fervently kisses back. Arthur pulls back with a chuckle, “Don’t worry, we will get our chance. We can’t ruin this moment for them.”

Merlin sighs, but nods his head as he knows Arthur isn’t aware of Merlin’s predicament and hopes he can last until they retire for the night.

The feast is in full swing as Morgana and Mordred excuse themselves for the night and sneaks off to the privacy of their new suite in the castle. Merlin spent the evening still with a heavy erection, but he was able to enjoy the feast by Arthur’s side. Rarely did they separate and quite a few times it was maddening to Merlin as his cock throbs in Arthur’s presence. He willfully ignores it, knowing that they can’t just leave the feast, but it wasn’t until ten minutes after the bride and groom left that his need started to get worse.

Merlin clenches his hands, digging his short nails into the palm of his hands as he tries not to give into the urge of grabbing Arthur and throwing him onto the floor to ravish him. His whole body is aching with lust and agonizing pleasure that with just his will alone, he stays in his seat. Arthur, still unaware of the internal struggle Merlin faces, sits next to him and chatting with an inebriated Leon. When Arthur looks at Merlin with a carefree grin and places his hand on Merlin’s thigh, his resolve breaks.

“Arthur,” Merlin harshly whispers at him as he grabs Arthur’s hand and slides it up to his aching, leaking cock, “I _need_ you. Now.”

Arthur’s eyes widen as he unconsciously squeezes Merlin’s hardened cock and Merlin lets out a low moan.

“Ah, let me see if we can, uh,” Arthur blushes slightly as Merlin squirms in his seat, dying to leave the room for privacy.

“Go, I’ll cover for you,” Leon chuckles as he seemingly understands their predicament, “Have a good night.”

“Thank you,” Both Arthur and Merlin say to the elder knight, though Merlin’s sounds a bit more strained as he still fights the wave of pleasure that surged within him. Merlin grabs Arthur’s hand and stands up, pulling his king along with him. He drags Arthur across the room, not caring what it looks like as he’s more worried about breaking down and giving them something far more licentious to see.

“Merlin, what’s gotten in you?” Arthur asks, voicing his concerns as they leave the room. Merlin unable to hold back, pushes Arthur into the wall near the stairs, hopefully out of sight from the people as he grinds his throbbing erection against Arthur, kissing him deeply.

“I told you,” Merlin pants in-between kissing Arthur, trying to at least give him an explanation, “I need you. I need to be inside you, right now. Something… magic…”

With those last two barely said words, Arthur tries to push Merlin away.

“Magic?” Arthur’s concern laces the word, but Merlin growls at the interruption.

“Yes, magic,” Merlin replies as he just grabs Arthur’s tunic and with just a thought, they flash into Arthur’s chambers.

“I didn’t know you could do that?!” Arthur looks shocked and quite frankly so is Merlin.

“Neither did I,” Merlin replies, slightly in awe, “But never mind that, this is good magic. Sex magic.”

Merlin’s libido had halted temporarily in his shock, but it quickly came back with a vengeance as Merlin takes control of Arthur’s lips. He kisses and nips at Arthur’s lips and jaw, unable to stop himself from wanting the taste of Arthur’s skin permanently in his mouth.

“S-sex magic?” Arthur still manages to speak and Merlin growls as he ramps up Arthur’s pleasure. Merlin’s hands aren’t idle as he tugs Arthur’s belt off, growling once more when he can’t get the darn thing off. Arthur weakly chuckles at Merlin’s inability to get the buckle undone and Merlin couldn’t take it anymore. He takes a step back and glares at Arthur’s clothing, wanting them gone. Merlin’s magic spills through him, granting his desires as suddenly Arthur’s clothes disappear, leaving Arthur completely nude and rock hard.

“ _Mer_ lin!” Arthur yelps at the sudden exposure and Merlin just waves his hand to make his own clothes disappear, not caring where they end up. He resumes his attack on Arthur, his mouth and hands everywhere on Arthur’s skin as he rubs his insistent arousal against Arthur’s. They both moan, Arthur rubbing against Merlin like a cat in heat, strong fingers clawing on Merlin’s back and Merlin leaving trails of marks on Arthur’s skin with his mouth and teeth.

“Bed,” Merlin demands, barely remembering what the word means as he grabs Arthur’s arm and hauls him over to the softer surface. Merlin’s magic is still coursing through him, singing in his blood which is normal during this time, but what isn’t is the magic pushing him to copulate with Arthur, furthering his need to be inside him, and forcing him to be this aggressive. He knows that after this is over, something will change in him, but right now he has no other concern but to thrust into Arthur’s tight arse.

“Oh Gods, Merlin,” Arthur moans as Merlin pushes him onto the bed and looks up at him with eyes brimming with lust, “I think I like this side of you.”

“Good,” Merlin smiles and he knows it’s not one of his easy going smiles he’s known for. He feels a part of himself, the deeper part that consists of his determination and assertiveness, rising up within himself. This is the side of him that he shows when he needs to make the hard decisions of life or death in the need to protect Arthur. It almost frightens him, but he knows that no matter what, he always is on the side of good. On Arthur’s side.

Merlin pounces on top of Arthur, covering him with his skinny frame against Arthur’s muscled one. He knows Arthur will always be physically stronger than him, but he has magic to aid his strength as he pins him to the bed and he begins his exploration of Arthur’s chest with his mouth. He circles his tongue around one of Arthur’s pert nipples before sucking on the little nub. Arthur moans as he thrusts his hips against Merlin and reaches to grab at Merlin’s hair.

As soon as Arthur starts to tug on Merlin’s hair, trying to get him to come back up, Merlin growls. With a mental command, he flings his magic to capture Arthur’s hands and forces them to release his hair and pin them above Arthur’s head on the bed. Merlin looks up at Arthur’s face in a moment of concern as he sees the slight fear in Arthur’s eyes, but that moment is gone as soon as the lust overpowers Arthur with a deep moan. Merlin smirks as he knows Arthur is enjoying the display of dominance and goes to the other neglected nipple to lavish it with attention.

Arthur thrusts his hips, creating friction against Merlin’s stomach and Merlin knows where Arthur wishes his mouth was on. With a grin he reaches down with a hand and forces Arthur’s thrusts to stop, making Arthur whine with need.

“Merlin,” Arthur groans as he looks down at him and in reply, Merlin starts nipping downward on Arthur’s skin. Once Merlin is near Arthur’s heavily leaking cock, he nuzzles at the tip, lapping up the juices as Arthur lets out a long moan. Merlin loves the taste of Arthur and has an aching need to have his mouth filled with his beloved’s flavor. He takes the tip of Arthur’s cock into his mouth and sucks on the foreskin, wiggling his tongue down the slit.

“Oh Gods, Merlin!” Arthur moans and struggles to move, the only thing he can move are his legs so he draws them up and widens them to accommodate Merlin’s head in-between them. Merlin smiles as he hears Arthur just moaning with pleasure and decides to take it up a notch. With a twist of magic, he conjures a vial of oil made specifically for their lovemaking. He pours some of it on the fingers as he continues to tease Arthur with his mouth just on the tip of his cock. With his fingers slicked up, he takes his free hand to grasp the thick based of Arthur’s cock and slowly slides his mouth down while with his slicked fingers, he breaches Arthur’s pucker.

With the dual sensations, Arthur moans loudly and his hips thrust ever so slightly which is a testament to his own physical strength. Merlin moans with him, enjoying servicing his king in this way and a fantasy trickles into his mind on doing this kind of service underneath a table during dinner. He honestly didn’t know how depraved his mind can get, but with Arthur, he wants to explore this side of him for a very long time.

Merlin slips in another finger to stretch Arthur by scissoring inside of him as he continues to bob his head up and down on Arthur’s thick cock. He knows he has to take the time to prepare Arthur, but his own cock throbs with need and he’s having a hard time concentrating on his pleasurable tasks. His magic sparks across his skin, crackling with an ozone smell permeating the air. He’s sure that Arthur can smell it too, which is something new to them, but Merlin can’t stop. He crooks his fingers to that very delectable spot that Arthur had shown him the first time they made love, causing Arthur to lose control as he yells Merlin’s name while shooting his seed into Merlin’s waiting mouth.

With the last drop swallowed, Merlin licks Arthur’s semi-hard cock clean before sitting up.

“Oh Gods, Merlin,” Arthur looks up at Merlin, “Your eyes…”

“I know,” Merlin replies, knowing his eyes must be fully molten gold as the magic still roils within him. It feels like a small reprieve as he can sense that the magic is building up for the next onslaught. He leans forward to lovingly kiss Arthur, silently communicating his love for him. He releases his magic’s hold on Arthur and instantly Arthur’s fingers are entangled within Merlin’s hair. They both moan as Merlin’s pulsating cock rubs against Arthur’s renewed erection and Merlin knows that the reprieve is over.

Merlin pulls away and reaches to grab Arthur’s legs, lifting them onto his shoulders. Slathering oil onto his eager cock, Merlin guides it to Arthur’s waiting entrance and slowly enters, not wanting to hurt him despite the primal urge to just slam forward. Inch by inch, Merlin’s cock slides into Arthur’s tightly heated passage until he’s fully sheathed inside.

“Merlin,” Arthur breathes out his name with pleasure.

“Ready?” Merlin asks as somehow they both know that the magic is done being gentle with them.

“Yes,” Arthur nods his head and with his acquiescence, Merlin grips Arthur’s hips before pulling out to thrust back in. They both moan as Merlin begins a penetrating pace, magic surrounding them both in a whirlwind but Merlin isn’t sure that Arthur can feel its presence. Though it doesn’t matter as Merlin twists his hips slightly to hit that pleasurable spot within Arthur, causing his moans to become louder than Merlin’s.

Merlin increases his pace to a more brutal force as a fury of magic whips into a frenzied storm brews inside him, breaking the barrier of pain and pleasure with each pounding of skin against skin. In the back of his mind he knows he’s leaving marks on Arthur’s hips that’ll take weeks to heal as well as Arthur being unable to sit down properly just as long. He promises himself that he’ll heal Arthur and with that the worry is washed away as the magic tears through him like a rushing river and his own orgasm explodes violently within him.

He knows his shout of Arthur’s name must have been heard throughout the castle, but he doesn’t care as he can feel Arthur tipping over the threshold alongside with him. Both are connected in a loop of pleasure and magic for a few seconds before the magic shoots like a speeding arrow to somewhere else in the castle, leaving Merlin completely drained physically and magically. The last thing he remembers is slumping onto the side, next to Arthur, before passing out.

~@~

“Congratulations, Emrys,” Cernunnos is standing before Merlin and Arthur in the forest with a wide grin. Merlin blinks, wondering how that got here, but then realizes that this must be a dream, similar to the dream last night when Cernunnos had talked to him before.

“What just happened?” Arthur growls as he moves to stand between Merlin and Cernunnos in a protective manner, which makes Merlin smiles slightly.

“Relax young Pendragon,” Cernunnos replies, “I won’t harm either of you. I am Cernunnos, the horned god.”

Merlin sees Arthur only relaxing a little bit, so he takes a step to stand by Arthur’s side and reaches to entwine his hand with Arthur’s.

“I told you it was sex magic,” Merlin says to Arthur with a smile, knowing that if the horned god was involved, sex usually ensues.

“That and a little bit more,” Cernunnos chuckles, “I had told Emrys what was going to happen, but I’m guessing the dream didn’t take hold into the waking world.”

“Wait, so you knew what was going to happen and you didn’t tell me?” Arthur looks at Merlin, “I thought we agreed to not have any secrets between us anymore.”

“It’s not like I purposely withheld the information,” Merlin protests, “I remembered that Cernunnos was in my dream, but I didn’t remember what was said. And don’t forget, we were both pretty busy with Morgana’s wedding.”

“Yes, Morgana and Mordred,” Cernunnos interrupts them with a smile, “You’ll be happy to know that Morgana will conceive a child this night thanks to the both of you.”

Both of them stare at Cernunnos.

“So we helped ensuring that Morgana is with child?” Arthur asks as Merlin remembers the previous dream he had with Cernunnos.

“Yes,” Merlin answers instead of Cernunnos, knowing what he had told Merlin before, “A fertility spell was cast on me because with my magic I was able to amplify the spell and send it directly to Morgana while they also had sex. With the spell and my magic, I created a bond with the child not unlike what Godmother and Godfather had done for me. I’ll be connected with the child because while physically he’ll be Morgana’s and Mordred’s, but magically he’ll be ours, Arthur.”

He looks at Arthur with a smile as he explains what happened, watching Arthur’s eyes go wide with the implications.

“So he’ll be our son as well?” Arthur asks softly.

“Yes,” Merlin nods his head and Arthur promptly pulls him closer and kisses him. The kiss lasts for a few minutes before Merlin realizes that Cernunnos is still there and pulls back.

“One last thing,” Cernunnos says after they stopped, though clearly looked intrigued at the prospect of them continuing to kiss, “The child will not be able to use magic, but will pass down the potential of magic to your descendants.”

They both nod as it makes sense to Merlin since magic is going into hibernation soon.

“And I’ll be able to recognize our descendants just by touching them, right?” Merlin asks as he fuzzily remembers that from the other dream.

“Yes, your magic will recognize the familial spark of magic within those that have Pendragon blood through direct touch,” Cernunnos answers, “Now that an heir has been secured, I am looking forward to your marriage ceremony.”

“You’ll have to wait a few months,” Merlin replies with a grin, “We’re going to do it on Beltane.”

“A very appropriate time,” Cernunnos grins back.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy, sorry it took me so long to finish this, but this is it, the last chapter before the epilogue which I had already finished before the end of this chapter.
> 
> This is the happy ending :) I love happy endings and I hope you'll like it too.

**Merlin**

The months passed quickly as Morgana started to show symptoms of her pregnancy right away, quelling the nobles who thought that Morgana couldn’t get pregnant. Merlin didn’t care what the nobles thought as he knows it’s the right course of action, but poor Arthur got the brunt of their dissent which made him a little short-tempered with them. The few protesting nobles then tried to secede from Camelot, but the people weren’t having that and promised a revolt of the nobles were going to break away from Arthur. It was clear that the people of Camelot support Arthur and Merlin and so the disgruntled nobles were forced to give up their protests.

Finally the day of their wedding arrives too quickly and Merlin wakes up in his own chambers for the last time. It was bare of Merlin’s things as he pretty much already moved into Arthur’s chambers, so all that’s left is just the clothes for the ceremonies. They agreed that they’ll have the royal wedding in the morning and the druidic wedding in the afternoon while spending the honeymoon night in their cottage.

Edwin pulls back the curtains to let in the morning light shine in the room.

“Good morning, Merlin,” Edwin greets him excitedly.

“Morning,” Merlin grins, excited as well for his upcoming nuptials.

“I brought you breakfast and the tub,” Edwin points to the table with a plate of food and a cup of water before pointing at the empty tub as Merlin will fill it magically, “You’ll have to hurry as you’ll have to be in the throne room in an hour.”

“Alright, go check in on Arthur,” Merlin nods his head, both he and Arthur agreed that Edwin will become the royal manservant for them both, though really Merlin bullied Arthur into taking him, stating that he trained Edwin personally which descended into an argument of what constitutes as an adequate manservant.

“Yes, Sire,” Edwin gives him a cheeky bow before scampering off as Merlin chuckles.

 _Oh yes, Edwin will make a great royal manservant_ , Merlin thinks to himself as he waves his hand to have hot water fill the tub.

After his bath and breakfast, Merlin gets dressed in the ceremonial clothes of a King’s Consort which consists of a deep red velvet tunic with gold trim and creamy white breeches. He’ll be getting a crown and a new medallion to showcase his upgraded position, so he already gave his court sorcerer position to Froki as he would have won if it weren’t for Merlin showing up.

There’s a knock on his door and he goes to open it. Surprised at who it is, he instantly hugs his mother.

“Merlin,” Hunith greets him as she hugs him back.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” Merlin kisses her cheek before pulling away, “I can’t believe that I’m getting married.”

“I can,” Hunith replies with a grin, “You deserve to have someone by your side as well as someone to look out for you when you get into trouble.”

“Mum!” Merlin tries to sound upset, but knows she’s telling the truth.

“I’m glad it’s Arthur,” Hunith still grins, “Anyone can tell you were meant for each other.”

“Thanks, me too,” Merlin blushes.

“You look so handsome,” Hunith says as she looks him over and the reaches up to cup his cheek, “Magic and love suits you well, my son.”

“Thank you,” Merlin blushes again as he looks down at her in one of the new court dresses that Arthur and Morgana gifted her, “You look radiant as always.”

“Come now,” Hunith smiles at him, “We don’t want you to be late for your own wedding.”

“Arthur would kill me if I was,” Merlin takes his mother’s arm and escorts her out of his room and down the stairs.

As soon as they reach the throne room, Hunith kisses Merlin’s cheek before going in to take her place in the front row. He fidgets slightly as he waits for his cue to walk in, making sure he still looks presentable and that nothing is out of place during the short walk from his room. Finally, the guards open the doors, revealing a long aisle that ends at Arthur standing with Geoffrey and two thrones, one smaller than the other. He takes a deep breath before standing straight and walks past the hundreds of people in attendance for the royal wedding. The only thing that keeps him walking is Arthur as he looks royally attractive in a similar outfit as Merlin’s. His eyes do wander to the knights, all grinning at him, as well as Gwen and Gaius. Morgana and Mordred are next to Hunith with Morgana barely showing a baby bump, but she proudly displays it by wearing a tight dress.

He manages to make it up to Arthur without any incident, a record in his book, as he takes Arthur’s hand and they present themselves to Geoffrey. Merlin doesn’t hear the speech Geoffrey gives as he’s too wrapped up in looking at Arthur and becomes surprised when Arthur frowns at him slightly.

“Say ‘I do’,” Arthur whispers under his breath and Merlin’s eyes go wide as he must’ve tuned Geoffrey out too well to hear him say the pledge that Merlin must swear by.

“I do,” Merlin tries very hard to not blush, but those in the front knows he wasn’t paying attention. He takes Arthur’s right hand and slides the ring on.

“And do you Arthur Pendragon…” Merlin stops listening, knowing that while these pledges are important, he’s too keyed up for this afternoon’s ceremony. This one is all about declaring their love in public while the more intimate ceremony is what will truly bind them together for all of eternity.

“I do,” Arthur says as he stares at Merlin with love and knowing that Merlin isn’t quite paying attention, which Merlin rectifies that by looking attentive as Arthur slides Merlin’s ring on.

“By the power invested in me, I present to you King Arthur and Consort Merlin Pendragon,” Geoffrey intones as he places the Consort’s crown on top of Merlin’s head. It’s a delicate piece of work as they wanted it to reflect Merlin’s connections with the land and magic. So rather than gold, it is silver with vines and leaves interlocked to hold several emeralds.

The people clap and cheer as Arthur grabs Merlin and kisses him in front of everybody. They spend a couple of hours as people congratulate them, Merlin thought he was going to start killing people just to cut down on the amount of well-wishers. After the last people trickle down to the feast, Arthur and Merlin dash up to their chamber and in a flurry of clothing being flung off, they end up on their sides naked on the bed unable to keep their hands off each other’s naked flesh.

“We need to be quick,” Arthur moans as Merlin attaches his mouth to Arthur’s neck, “Oh gods, Merlin. Turn around so we can suck each other off. There’s no time for anything else.”

“Yes, Sire,” Merlin lifts his head from Arthur’s neck and grins at Arthur’s idea of mutual satisfaction. Arthur chuckles as he slaps Merlin’s arse before Merlin moves so he’s facing Arthur’s feet with his husband’s thick cock in front of his face. Impatiently, Merlin grabs Arthur’s erection and slides his mouth down, causing Arthur to moan. Merlin moans when Arthur’s tongue reaches up to lick Merlin’s precome before grabbing his arse and starts sucking.

They both work rapidly with the sounds of their mingled moans and sucking reverberating in the room as any moment they’ll have to be ready to ride out to the Isle of the Blessed. All too soon, Merlin feels his balls drawing up and his magic pulsating within him as Arthur uses a spit-slicked finger to tease Merlin’s hole. He moans with Arthur’s cock still in his mouth as he reaches his orgasm, causing Arthur to come as well. The magic also releases its own energy around them, showering them with colored lights throughout the room.

A few minutes after they bask in the afterglow, they get dressed in a different outfit that is more suitable for outdoors. Arthur in his customarily red tunic and brown breeches and Merlin in his blue tunic and black breeches. They make sure they’re presentable before walking down to the stables where the rest of their party is waiting for them. For this ceremony, they’re only having less than a dozen people in attendance; Morgana, Mordred, Gaius, Hunith, Gwen, Lancelot, Leon, and Kilgharrah who will meet them at the isle. Morgana carries the cup of life as they will need it for the special ceremony and she will be the one officiating the ceremony as high priestess.

When they step foot onto the Isle of the Blessed, Merlin grins as he sees the altar has been decorated and the surrounding grass is covered with flowers. He also sees Kilgharrah and rushes over to the great dragon.

“Ah, young warlock,” the dragon greets him with a draconic smile, “I see you’ve grown into your destiny and even forged new paths.”

“Yes, and I’m extremely happy,” Merlin grins as he glances back at Arthur who is walking towards them.

“Hello Pendragon,” Kilgharah greets Arthur, “I must thank you for bringing back hope for magic as well as taking care of the young dragonlord.”

“You’re welcome,” Arthur replies with a respectful bow to the dragon, “I’m grateful for all the times you’ve helped Merlin despite having my father imprison you and I’m sorry you had to suffer in all those years.”

“You are definitely not Uther,” Kilgharah chuckles as he peers deeply at Arthur, “And you are the perfect match for Merlin.”

Arthur blushes as Kilgharah swings his head to look at Merlin.

“I wish to bestow one last gift unto you, Merlin,” Kilgharah says and holds up a single claw to stall Merlin’s protest, “I know your thoughts will be on other things once the ceremony finishes and I must confess that I would never see the day that I die from old age before seeing another of my kind. You still have a duty to the dragons as I can feel the unborn still waiting. You must seek them out and help them hatch.”

Kilgharah takes a deep breath before opening his mouth to breathe the knowledge into Merlin. His mind is saturated with dragonlore, including how to hatch dragon eggs. He feels as though his head is going to explode with all of that knowledge, but it starts settling down.

“I, uh, wow, um, thanks,” Merlin is still reeling from the sudden increase in knowledge and the great dragon chuckles.

“Take good care of the future,” Kilgharah replies as he settles down.

“We will,” Merlin nods his head as he grabs Arthur’s hand. They then walk over to the altar, where Morgana is ready for them. Mordred comes up to them and places a crown of flowers and vines on each of their heads before moving back to his position near the altar.

“Ready?” Morgana asks, making sure everyone is in place before starting, “Today, on one of our most sacred days of renewal and new beginnings, we are here to witness and celebrate a union that will last through the ages. I call upon the triple goddess and the horned god to stand attendance to bless this union.”

With Morgana’s words, both Danu and Cernunnos appear, causing some of them to gasp. Morgana doesn’t look fazed by their appearance as she nods her head to them in deference.

“This cord,” Morgana holds up a green, blue, and silver cord that represents the land and magic before tying Merlin’s and Arthur’s wrists together, “represents the binding of your souls as you speak your vows to each other.”

“Merlin,” Arthur starts as he looks at Merlin with love, “I know that we had a rocky start and it took us a long time to reach this happy moment, but I wouldn’t trade any memory with you for anything in the world. You have made me a better person and I can only hope that you can still keep me from being too egotistical. You’re my other half and I promise to always keep you as such as well as promising to protect you, even from yourself. I love you and I will always cherish you for the rest of my life. You are my equal, my partner, and the only person I want to spend my life with.”

“Arthur,” Merlin smiles at him, trying to convey all his love for him through his words and eyes, “You are my destiny, everything I have done and will do is for you. I will always be devoted to you because you are my soulmate, the other half of my coin. I have and always will love you no matter what happens between us. We may fight and bicker, but never doubt the fact that I love you with my entire body, mind, and magic. I pledge everything that I have, including my magic to always stay by your side, nothing will ever keep us apart.”

“I remove the cord to symbolize that you are willing to remain bound to each other of your own free will,” Morgana says as she unties the cord and removes it before bringing the cup of life out to them, “The cup of life grants life and immortality to those that drink it and give a blood sacrifice. By spilling your freely given blood into this vessel and drinking from it, both of your lives will be bound to each other. When one dies, so will the other. Do you wish to make the sacrifice?”

“Yes,” Both Merlin and Arthur replies and Morgana lowers the cup while Mordred comes up with a ceremonial knife to give to Merlin. Merlin takes the knife and slices his wrist over the cup, allowing his blood to drip into it. Once there’s enough, he pulls a little bit of magic to heal the cut before handing the knife to Arthur, who repeats his actions. Arthur hands the knife back to Mordred and Merlin heals him as Morgana swirls the blood three times.

“Drink and be bound,” Morgana says as she holds the cup to Arthur first. He takes a sip before Morgana turns to face Merlin with the cup.

“Drink and be bound,” Morgana repeats to Merlin and Merlin takes the remaining sip of the blood, draining the cup. As soon as the blood hits his tongue he can taste both him and Arthur’s essences mixed together. He swallows the blood and feels a wave of dizziness as the magic swirls around him and Arthur. He closes his eyes as he senses a presence in his mind.

: _Merlin?_ :

Merlin is startled by Arthur’s voice in his mind, speaking like the druids can. But then he can feel Arthur’s mind in his own.

: _Yes Arthur. I think the blood also connected our minds. I can feel you in the back of my mind like I can with magic and the land_ :

: _I can feel you too. This is great_ :

Merlin opens his eyes and grins wildly at Arthur, who is grinning right back.

“I would like to offer my blessing,” Danu says as she comes up and kisses them on the foreheads, “May your journey be filled with the wonders of magic.”

“I too also offer my blessing,” Cernunnos steps up as Danu steps away. He gives them a quick kiss on the lips, surprising Arthur though Merlin had expected it out of the horny god, “May you lead bountiful lives and be filled with joy and happiness.”

“With the power invested in me and with the blessing of the gods, I pronounce you husband and husband,” Morgana ends the ceremony just as Merlin leans forward to passionately kiss Arthur. Merlin can hear their friends and family cheer for them, Kilgharah roaring his approval among them. With a chuckle Merlin pulls back and grins at Arthur.

This time, Merlin enjoys the congratulations as they are more heartfelt and honest from people he knows. He notices that Danu, Cernunnos, and the cup are gone, so he presumes they took it for safe keeping.

Someone had brought a smaller feast and wine to celebrate with and for the next few hours, they had their own celebration on the isle until it started getting darker. At dusk, Merlin and Arthur bid their friends and family a good night, promising to come back to Camelot tomorrow, though definitely not in the morning. Once everyone left, Arthur and Merlin take their packs and with magic, enter their personal little realm.

As soon as they step into the cottage, both of them are instantly on each other kissing and groping. They stumble towards the bedroom, pulling and tugging at clothing to get to the skin underneath. Arthur’s tunic is the first to be stripped off and Merlin bends his head down to lick the exposed flesh. Something catches his eye and be pulls away to stare at Arthur’s chest.

“Arthur,” Merlin murmurs in awe as he is looking right at a tattoo of the Pendragon crest surrounded by an interwoven circle similar to Merlin’s. Arthur just had untied Merlin’s breeches, but stops to see what Merlin is looking at.

“It’s like yours,” Arthur says as he removes one hand to touch it, “What does it mean?”

“I think it means that you represent the people of Albion and magic,” Merlin guesses, but it seems right, “Probably also connects us together for all of eternity.”

“Then I’ll wear it proudly,” Arthur says softly as he reaches to tilt Merlin’s head up and kisses him tenderly. Merlin happily kisses back, enjoying the sweetness of it before Arthur reaches and pulls Merlin’s tunic over his head.

Merlin’s lips latch onto Arthur’s chest, wanting to see if the tattoo makes his skin taste any different. It doesn’t but that doesn’t stop him from tracing the design with his tongue. Arthur moans above him and slides his hands on Merlin’s naked back and up into his hair. Somehow they made it to the bed as Arthur grabs Merlin’s shoulders and pushes him onto it, causing him to gasp in surprise. Hurriedly, Arthur bends down and yanks Merlin’s boots off, leaving Merlin mostly naked with his breeches already opened allowing his hard cock to jut out. Arthur just grins as he reaches for the top of Merlin’s breeches and with Merlin’s help, strips them off and throws them somewhere in the room. Arthur palms Merlin’s erection, making him moan at the contact.

“Why am I the only one naked?” Merlin asks as he sits up to reach for the ties of Arthur’s breeches.

“Because I think you forgot how to undress me since you’re no long my manservant,” Arthur teases as he toes off his own boots.

“Let me rectify that,” Merlin grins as he uses magic to pull Arthur’s breeches down enough for Arthur to step out of them.

“That’s cheating,” Arthur exclaims.

“No,” Merlin retorts, “That’s using my skills for the job.”

“Do you have any non-magical skills that are useful?” Arthur asks, teasing Merlin.

“You mean like this?” Merlin asks before he moves his body so he can reach down and engulf Arthur’s erection with his mouth, slowly making his way to the root. He feels Arthur tense as he moans loudly.

“Oh yes, t-that’s useful,” Arthur moans, reaching to grab Merlin’s hair. Merlin moans, letting the vibrations tease Arthur’s cock in his mouth, “Even better.”

“Gods, your mouth,” Arthur continues to moan as he holds Merlin’s head and makes small thrusts into his mouth, “I think I found a good use for it.”

: _That shouldn’t be all that I’m good for_ : Merlin had to concentrate on sending that to Arthur, but he makes sure that it sounds teasingly.

“I’m never going to have you silent, am I?” Arthur asks with a chuckle before he lets go of Merlin’s hair.

“No sire,” Merlin replies as he pulled back with a huge grin, “But I know you love hearing me.”

“I love hearing you moan,” Arthur counters as he climbs onto the bed, forcing Merlin to move back. Merlin presses his lips together, grinning as he wants to make it a challenge for Arthur.

“You’re going to make me work for it, aren’t you?” Arthur asks with a raised eyebrow as Merlin just nods his head, “Shouldn’t be that hard.”

Arthur grabs Merlin’s foot to pull him onto his back before bodily pinning him down. Merlin makes sure not to make a startling noise as Arthur is on top of him. Arthur flicks his hips to rub his erection against Merlin’s aching cock and Merlin presses his lips together, still trying to make Arthur work for it.

“I see I’ll have to do some drastic measures,” Arthur says with a quirk of his lips before he slides down Merlin’s body, playfully kissing and nibbling along the way. Merlin knows Arthur’s downward goal and holds his breath in anticipation, but when Arthur bypasses Merlin’s leaking cock, he almost lets out a whimper. Instead, Arthur gently bites Merlin’s inner thigh which causes Merlin to slightly gasp. Merlin looks down to see Arthur looking up as he hovers his mouth over Merlin’s cock. Arthur smiles as he notices Merlin watching and slowly reaches out with his tongue to lick the large vein alongside Merlin’s penis.

Merlin bites his lip as he tries not to moan at the erotic sight. Arthur puffs out a stream of air, making the wet line tingle on Merlin’s erection. Merlin still holds out, though he’s not sure how much longer he cannot moan at what Arthur’s doing to him. His body feels so achy and tense. Arthur then wraps his calloused hand around Merlin’s shaft and slowly pumps him, letting his thumb swipe over the leaking slit. Merlin takes some deep breathes as he closes his eyes at the feeling of Arthur’s hand on his erection.

Arthur surprises him by engulfing Merlin’s erection into his mouth, forcing a strangled moan from Merlin’s lips.

: _I win, therefore I’ll claim my prize_ : Arthur’s hesitant voice says faintly in Merlin’s head, apparently getting the idea of how to talk in their minds.

“What prize?” Merlin opens his eyes to look down at Arthur, who still has his mouth around his cock.

Arthur slowly slides Merlin’s cock out of his mouth, eliciting another moan from Merlin.

“I get to be inside you,” Arthur replies with a huge cat-caught-the-canary grin.

“How is that fair?” Merlin glares at his husband, “It was only a matter of time before I moaned.”

“Yes,” Arthur concedes as he slides over Merlin to reach the oil they had left there last time, “But, I’m your king and therefore I win.”

“How does that even make any sense,” Merlin protests as Arthur comes back with the oil, “Just because you’re the king doesn’t mean that you automatically win. Besides, I think it is my turn-“

Arthur interrupted Merlin’s protest as he grabs Merlin and uses his strength to flip him onto his stomach. Merlin gets his limbs under control as he pushes himself up on his knees, but Arthur pushes his shoulders down, forcing him on all fours.

“T-that’s cheating,” Merlin moans as somehow Arthur slicked up a finger already since he can feel him probing at his entrance.

“It’s called using my skills,” Arthur throws Merlin’s earlier statement back at him as he slowly pushes his finger inside of Merlin. He tries to be upset at Arthur, but with his finger now fully seated inside and stroking with pleasure, Merlin can’t. Instead he relaxes on his forearms as he enjoys Arthur stretching him open with a single finger at first and then with two. He can feel his magic starting to respond to the pleasure as it sparks little pin-pricks against his skin.

Arthur bends his fingers inside of Merlin, catching that one highly pleasurable spot, and Merlin arches his back upwards as he moans with a shudder.

“I can’t wait to be inside you,” Arthur moans as Merlin feels a third impatient finger enter him.

“Me neither,” Merlin replies, desperately wanting Arthur to hurry. He knows Arthur drizzle more oil to help ease his intruding fingers, but all Merlin wants now is Arthur’s cock inside him.

Finally after what seemed like hours, Arthur withdraws his fingers and Merlin whimpers for the loss. The empty feeling is soon replaced with anticipation as he feel’s Arthur’s blunt tip push at his entrance. Merlin tries to relax his body, allowing Arthur’s cock to slowly penetrate him and filling him up. They both moan as Arthur slides in until he is sheathed to the root.

“Fuck me already,” Merlin moans, unable to take the stillness for much longer as he moves his own arse to get some friction. Merlin’s use of dirty language must have spurred Arthur into action as he grips Merlin’s hips tightly before sliding out of him until just the tip is still within him. Arthur slowly thrusts back inside, making Merlin moan. He loves having Arthur inside him, though he won’t admit it otherwise he might never get to penetrate Arthur anymore. He enjoys the few slow thrusts as Arthur makes sure Merlin is pliable for harder plunges.

“Gods Merlin, you’re always so tight,” Arthur moans as he thrusts harder, causing Merlin to gasp with pleasure. Finally, Arthur’s short nails dig into Merlin’s bony hips as he picks up the pace. Merlin lets out a stream of moans as he clenches the blankets underneath him. It feels so good to him, especially when Arthur manages to nail that particular spot inside constantly.

“You’re so thick,” Merlin replies with a particularly loud moan as Arthur snaps his hips into Merlin’s arse. He grins at his own play on words, briefly wondering if Arthur will realize he called him thick.

The magic builds up inside him and by now Merlin is associating it with the pleasure he feels with Arthur as his cock throbs with a stream of come leaking out.

“I-I’m close,” Arthur moans as he reaches down and grasps Merlin’s aching cock, causing Merlin to suddenly moan louder.

“Oh Gods, I am too,” Merlin gasps as his own orgasm is rushing down his spine along with his magic. He rests his forehead on the bed and sees Arthur’s hand stroking in time with his thrusts, the sight of Arthur’s hand engulfing his cock pushes him over the edge. His head snaps up as he lets out a particularly loud moan while he comes all over the bed. He feels the magic release at the same time, but something different happened as instead of bursting around them, it shot right into Arthur.

“Merlin!” Arthur slams into him one last time as Merlin can feel Arthur’s own orgasm spread through him as the magic loops back, causing another smaller orgasm. Arthur slumps slightly on Merlin’s back, panting near his ear, “Gods, Merlin, is that what you feel?”

“Yeah,” Merlin breathes out, somehow knowing that the magic connected them even more now. Arthur groans as he slides out of Merlin and falls to the side.

“Bloody brilliant,” Arthur grins while Merlin collapses onto his side as well, avoiding the come-stain, “I wonder if it’ll be like that every time.”

They both lay there, letting the aftermath blissfully seep into their bones.

“Want to find out?” Merlin asks a few minutes later, once he regained his energy for a second round.

They spend the rest of the night discovering that Merlin’s magic really likes Arthur as it seeks him out each time Merlin orgasms before falling into a sex-exhausted sleep.


	12. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Last bit, but it was an epic journey for me as this just started out with a few snippets of scenes, accumulating to over 47,000 words!! My goodness. I hope you all enjoyed it and maybe one day I'll get a cross-over sequel with these boys ;)

**Epilogue**

Arthur’s reign was glorious and filled with treaties and the rare war as he unites all of Albion together. The people rejoiced with each acquisition and the land prospered. It was indeed a golden age for them all.

Once Morgana’s son, Tristan, was born Arthur and Merlin knew that they had to get everything ready for twenty-one years later. Arthur helped raise Tristan, imparting him everything that would make him a worthy king. Merlin spent the years preparing the druids and magic users for the inevitable hibernation of magic as well as securing safe havens for magical creatures. They worked in secret of their deadline as only just their closest friends knew why they were securing such a future without them.

Over the years, Gwen and Lancelot had a baby girl named Llewellyn, who was a childhood friend of Tristan and grew into a beautiful woman, inheriting her mother’s good sense. Love blossomed between Llewellyn and Tristan. Arthur and Merlin were blessed on being able to see them get married before Tristan’s 21st birthday.

A few of the knights had also married and settled with children. Gwaine surprised them all by marrying the barmaid, Elaine, from the Rising Sun Inn. He raised a brood of six children with two looking promising as knights.

There was some sadness during that golden period as Gaius passed away from old age after retiring from his physician position and enjoying the sedentary life until his timely death. Years later, Merlin’s mother died in her sleep, leaving Merlin bereft of his mortal parental figures. Sir Leon and Sir Kay died honorably in the war against Odin’s kingdom as Arthur fought to secure a uniting Albion.

It was on Tristan’s twenty-first birthday in which he was crown regent prince and that same day, Arthur and Merlin announce that they are to go on a quest to search for the holy grail. They took with them the few remaining knights they could trust with their secret and ride out to the Isle of the Blessed. Arthur had given the isle to Merlin, stating that it will remain within the family and will have a caretaker appointed by Merlin to ensure that the land will be cared for during their long absence. Once there, they reminisced of the old days one last time before saying their goodbyes forever. Once Arthur and Merlin disappeared, the knights had to make the sad journey back to tell everyone that Arthur and Merlin are dead, leaving Tristan as king.

 

 

~The End… or is it?

 

 

I’m thinking about doing a sequel to this, but with a crossover. Maybe a Harry Potter/Merlin? But it won’t be until a while.


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